Statement by Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, UDM Deputy President and Chief Whip

The United Democratic Movement (UDM) has noted that retrenched South African Post Office (SAPO) workers had expressed disappointment with the entity, government, and their union representatives, feeling let down by all parties. They demand full payment of their retrenchment packages, as initially promised, instead of the proposed eight-month payment plan.

The UDM had in December 2023 stated that that SAPO’s “business rescue plan” that had left 6,000 Post Office employees jobless is just another case of ordinary workers paying for the ANC government’s mismanagement of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The Post Office has been the subject of multiple bailouts in recent years, totaling over R10.3 billion in taxpayer funds over the period between 2016 and 2024. Despite this support, SAPO continues to struggle with financial instability, poor financial performance, mismanagement, and now, the delayed and partial payment of retrenchment benefits to its workers. This pattern of irresponsibility must be addressed at its root.

The UDM categorically dismisses the fact that retrenchment benefits will be paid in instalments, and it is simply unacceptable. These workers have already dealt with a significant blow by the loss of their jobs, and it is unacceptable that they are now being forced to wait even longer for the compensation that is rightfully theirs.

The situation faced by the retrenched Post Office workers is a reminder of the inefficiencies and failures of the current government. The handling of these retrenchments has been nothing short of disgraceful, with workers forced to endure months of uncertainty and partial payments. The Post Office, once a pillar of communication and public service, has been allowed to deteriorate to a point where it can no longer even provide a dignified exit for its employees.

The UDM has wrote before to say; “there is not even a single state entity that the ANC-led government has touched or managed since 1994 that does not need to be rescued or turned around, using the very same taxpayers’ money who the government is about to fire”.

This is not a matter that can be taken lightly or brushed off with promises of future payments. The Post Office has a responsibility to provide these workers with the full amount of their retrenchment benefits as soon as possible. Anything less would be an injustice to the retrenched.

This is not just a failure of the Post Office, but a failing of the entire system that is meant to serve the people of South Africa

Issued by:
United Democratic Movement National Office
Mr Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, MP
UDM Deputy President and Chief Whip