Hordes of SAPO members have embarked on a sit-in at the parastatal’s head office in Pretoria since Tuesday demanding their right to choose a union.
CWU Secretary General, Gallant Roberts, said the cancellation of CWU membership of some of its employees before “donating them” to the South African Postal Workers Union was unacceptable.
“The Communication Workers Union is astounded by the South African Post Office management’s trade union bashing tactics and attitude that is aimed at realising their intention to multiply the number of trade unions at the workplace to the detriment of workers’ interests,” said Roberts.
“To this end the CWU National Office Bearers have been staging a sit-in at the head office of SAPO in Pretoria since 2 November and this is continuing.
“At the centre of this furore is SAPO’s deliberate cancellation of CWU membership of some of its employees and donating them to the new Mickey Mouse union called South African Postal Workers Union – SAPWU — which has been engineered by SAPO’s reactionary management.”
He accused SAPO of undermining the Agency Fee Agreement signed by SAPO and CWU.
“This agreement necessitates that non-CWU members should pay an amount equivalent to CWU subscription into a separate account as they benefit from CWU collective bargaining efforts to better the lives of workers.
“We are calling on SAPO’s reactionary management to respond positively to CWU’s demand to desist from their monkey tricks and snake techniques by ensuring that they stop their barbaric actions of union bashing; otherwise our rights in law are reserved,” said Roberts.
TINTSWALO BALOYI, Johannesburg
