WATCH | Retrenched SA Post Office workers: 'Pay our money in full'

JOHANNESBURG - A group of retrenched South African Post Office (SAPO) workers have accused the state-owned entity of not paying them their severance packages.

On Friday, about 50 aggrieved workers protested at the entity’s offices in Pretoria. 

The workers said they were retrenched in March and have not received their packages since. 

After numerous government bailouts, the SAPO has been handed over to business rescue practitioners to prevent it from going into liquidation.

The practitioners sanctioned the reduction of about 4,500 workers over the past year.

A representative of the retrenched workers, Motshabi Matloha, said the process was handled clumsily.

“We haven’t been getting any salaries, no severance package, nothing. We go to UIF [Unemployment Insurance Fund] and they tell you something else, they tell you, you still deployed that’s why workers have taken it upon themselves to visit the head offices to get answers.”

In response to Eyewitness News, SAPO’s business rescue practitioners said they had agreed with worker unions to pay the first tranche of severance packages by the end of June.
 
However, they have moved up that timeline and will start disbursing the funds from Friday. 

RETRENCHED POST OFFICE WORKERS ‘BARELY SURVIVING’

Thabang Nkoana worked as a mail processor for over ten years at the SAPO.

She was retrenched in march, along with about 4500 of her colleagues.

“Life has been very hard. There is no money for the children’s school transport, groceries and rent. We are suffering a lot, even our policies have lapsed.”

Yvette White (53) worked as an operation officer for over 12 years at the Tshwane mail office until she was retrenched in March.

“I’m barely surviving, I have been surviving on the prayer of god. I have been surviving on the God’s mercy. God’s mercy has been pulling me through.”

SAPO’s business rescue practitioners said they have paid the UIF, adding that retrenched workers can start claiming their unemployment benefits.