Postal services in South Africa risk being disrupted later this week as a union says nationwide strike action is going ahead.<\/p>\n
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) last week threatened to strike on May 5-6 to demand higher annual pay rises for South African Post Office (Sapo) staff.<\/p>\n
CWU is also calling for the conversion of casual Sapo workers to permanent employees.<\/p>\n
“It’s happening and we’re having a press conference in the morning (Thursday, May 5),\u201d CWU president Clyde Mervin told Fin24 by phone on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
Mervin further said the strike will be \u201cnationwide\u201d while marches against Sapo are expected to happen on Friday.<\/p>\n
During the last week, discussions between Sapo and CWU to try and avert the strike have not taken place, Mervin told Fin24.<\/p>\n
But Mervin said the Sapo board want to have a meeting with CWU on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“They’ve just called us but we’re waiting for a confirmation,\u201d Mervin told Fin24.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Sapo said it has received notice of a planned stay-away on May 5-6 but that it doesn\u2019t expect postal services to be disrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur contingency plans to deal with service interruptions are being activated and we do not expect a substantial impact on delivery standards,\u201d said Sapo CEO Mark Barnes in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not expect service at Post Office outlets to be affected either,\u201d Barnes said.<\/p>\n
Barnes said he\u2019s also \u201ccommunicated with all our employees regarding labour issues\u201d.<\/p>\n
Last week, Barnes told Fin24 that the planned CWU strike risks impacting Sapo\u2019s capital raising efforts.<\/p>\n
After recording a 2015 loss of R1.5bn, Sapo has this year raised R1.8bn from the likes of banks to help with its turnaround.<\/p>\n
Sapo has a target of raising R2.7bn in capital in addition to the R650m cash injection it received from government earlier this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Post Office has started recovering in terms of service standards and is in the process of making financial improvements as well,\u201d Barnes said in his statement on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company needs funding to address the concerns of its employees, so a strike at this time \u2013 which will jeopardise current funding arrangements \u2013 will not help to address workers\u2019 issues,\u201d Barnes added.<\/p>\n
Sapo is also continuing to engage with all trade unions on matters that affect employees, Barnes said.<\/p>\n
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