SOUTH AFRICA, CAPE TOWN – The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has said that ongoing negotiations with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) management as hostile.
The union’s Aubrey Tshabalala is still not happy with what’s emerged during talks.
“We want to find out the rationale of the employer so that we can bring about the alternatives. And when we are not given that opportunity, it leads to a situation where we can say the environment was hostile.”
The union is leading a strike at the public broadcaster over looming job cuts.
SABC management said the drastic measure was aimed at saving money.
The CWU gave bosses until midday on Monday to withdraw retrenchment letters.
Tshabalala said they were against a government bailout: “We have to build new revenue streams. One of those is online content and the second one is government grants. We are not talking about a bailout, I think bailout is not the correct way of doing things.”
The SABC put on hold the retrenchment process to allow for further discussions.
WATCH: ‘It’s not okay’ – SABC journalist makes a tearful appeal against retrenchments
