Application for some SAPO workers facing axe to receive TERS funding rejected
The business rescue practitioners and three labour unions had filed an application seeking relief funding for the workers in a bid to soften the blow of the job cuts.
The South African Post Office. Picture: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp
JOHANNESBURG - As the country celebrates Workers' Day on Wednesday, some South African Post Office (SAPO) workers facing retrenchment have been dealt another blow.
The Single Adjudication Committee has rejected an application for certain employees to receive funding from the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS).
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The business rescue practitioners and three labour unions filed an application seeking relief funding for the workers in a bid to soften the blow of the job cuts.
During the provisional liquidation status of the Post Office, the business rescue practitioners approached the Department of Labour for the bargaining unit employees to receive 75% of their salaries through TERS relief.
This was while 25% of their salaries would be paid by the Post Office for a certain period, no longer than 12 months.
The business rescue practitioners said the funding would have effectively been used to upskill and retrain staff for possible job placements whilst still earning a salary.
Now that the application has been rejected, retrenchments will continue, affecting 4,889 employees of the bargaining unit staff members.