The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on the ANC to stop job losses in state-owned enterprises.
In a memorandum handed over to an ANC official at the party’s Luthuli House headquarters on Thursday, the workers demanded that the CEO of Telkom, Sipho Maseko, be removed and replaced.
“When he took over, we had a 23 000 workforce (sic) in the company and today we are sitting at 12 500. This represents a 46% job cut in a space of two years,” the CWU said.
Union president Clyde Mervin said they wanted an end to retrenchments, especially at Telkom, the removal of Telkom boss Maseko and a bailout for the Post Office.
The workers threatened mass action from 28 April until their demands were met.
About 200 CWU members gathered at Mary Fitzgerald Square in the Johannesburg CBD to hand over the memorandum at the ANC headquarters.
They were protesting against alleged mismanagement at Telkom and the Post Office, where their members are employed.
The union members also demanded an end to outsourcing.
Also on the union’s mind was Gupta-owned TV station ANN7. Some of broadcaster’s employees were members of the Cosatu-affiliated union. They are worried about the company’s future following reports that the Gupta family had left the country.
“Let it be a South African-owned company. So we will be engaging with various business people to ensure that we save jobs at ANN7,” Mervin said.
Oakbay Investments CEO Nazeem Howa wrote a letter to staff saying the Gupta family had decided to step down from all executive and non-executive positions in the company following a “sustained political attack” on them and their businesses.
ANN7 is one of the businesses under the Oakbay umbrella.