The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) stands firmly in solidarity with its Affiliate, the Communications Workers Union (CWU), as it prepares to march to the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, in defense of the future of the South African Post Office (SAPO) and the dignity of its employees.

CWU alongside the South African Postal Workers Union (SAPWU) and the Democratic Postal & Communications Union (DEPACU), will march on the Pretoria offices of Minister Malatsi, on Wednesday, 29 April.

SAPO has been under business rescue since July 2023. Last week the business rescue practitioners (BRP) told Parliament’s Communications and Digital Technologies Committee that the state-owned entity was ready to be handed back to board and shareholders. However, the BRP warned that the future of SAPO was entirely dependent on securing funding to sustain it beyond the rescue process. Mention was previously made of funding to the tune of R3.8 billion for SAPO, but National Treasury recently denied having made such an undertaking.

Meanwhile, thousand of SAPO employees have been retrenched; those that are remaining have not received a salary increase for eight painful years. Worse still, their continued employment remains uncertain. 

On Wednesday, protestors will hand over a memorandum of demands to Minister Malatsi and to National Treasury, demanding the following:

Immediate salary adjustments and fair wage increase for workers of SAPO

Full job security and a moratorium on retrenchments

Urgent funding intervention of R3.8 billion to stabilise operations

A credible, transparent, and worker-inclusive turnaround strategy

Meaningful consultation with organised labour on all restructuring processes

Immediate appointment of a functional SAPO Board of Directors

A clear and time-bound exit from the Business Rescue Process

A guaranteed 30% allocation of government business to SAPO

The unions warn that continued delays and inaction will have devastating consequences, not only for workers, but for millions of South Africans who rely on SAPO for essential services, particularly in rural and underserved communities.  

CWU, SAPWU and DEPACU are calling on both the Ministry of Communications and National Treasury to prioritise SAPO as a strategic national asset, not a failing entity to be discarded.

Details of the march are as follows:

Assembly point:          Union Buildings

Time:                                10am

March starts:                11am

End point:                      iParioli Office Park, 1166 Park Street, Hatfield, Pretoria

Issued by COSATU

Zanele Sabela (COSATU Spokesperson)

Mobile: 079 287 5788 / 077 600 6639

Email: zaneles@cosatu.org.za

Nathen Bowers (CWU National Bargaining Co-ordinator)

Mobile: 068 179 3056