MPs meet labour unions at SABC

4th May 2018 By: African News Agency

MPs meet labour unions at SABC

Members of Parliament (MPs) raised concern about relations between workers and board members and management of the beleaguered South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) after meeting with labour unions on Friday.

“It is concerning that a sub-committee of the board has had only one meeting with unions in order to find solutions to challenges faced by employees since appointment of the new board," said chairperson of Parliament's portfolio committee on communications, Humphrey Maxegwana.

"The leadership of the organisation must create an environment that will enable consultation between the institution and its employees."

Relations between workers and management have been tense after employees and journalists at the broadcaster blew the whistle on censorship and financial irregularities at the cash-strapped State-owned entity.

A parliamentary inquiry last year lifted the lid on dodgy dealings by management of the broadcaster with private contractors, including the Gupta family who stand accused of making billions off various State entities as a result of their close relationship with former president Jacob Zuma. The inquiry also saw journalists testify that they were being intimidated and threatened for standing their ground on censorship and various other issues of journalistic ethics.

The board was dissolved and the chief operating officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, believed to be at the centre of the SABC's demise, was later fired by a new board.

MPs said on Friday they were still concerned about the "problematic organisation culture that had taken root" during the tenure of former boards and executive managers.

"The committee has always maintained that an organisational culture that must be cultivated is one that enables the SABC to deliver on its constitutional mandate."