By REGINALD KANYANE
8 May 2025 – The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, Khusela Sangoni Diko has described the approval of six months of income support to beleaguered South African Post Office workers as “a much-needed lifeline that the state is both morally and duty-bound to extend”. Diko said the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) is aimed at minimising job losses in companies facing distress by providing up to 75% of employees’ salaries capped at R241 110 for a period of 12 months.
She further said the scheme is administered by the Department of Labour and Employment through the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
“The R381 297 863.83 wage subsidy for nearly 6 000 SAPO employees over a six-month period signals an important milestone in the ongoing work to rescue, resuscitate and ultimately future-proof the Post Office. The subsidy is expected to reduce the SAPO’s cost burden and forms part of the building blocks towards the completion of the business rescue process.
“We have noted that beyond financial, employee and operational distress, to qualify for TERS funding, applicants must present a viable turnaround strategy for the company to the Adjudication Committee that in the opinion of the committee have reasonable prospects of success,” said Diko.
She said they have called on the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies and SAPO to use the reduction of the entity’s cost burden to catalyse digitalisation, accelerate the development and implementation of a comprehensive partnership strategy and consider opportunities for reinvestment into the entity’s assets and infrastructure. Diko added that this step is steadily moving them towards the end of the business rescue process, thereby presenting an opportunity for the department to accelerate the process of developing a comprehensive partnerships strategy for SAPO’s revenue generating streams.
“While the TERS funding is substantially less than the R3.8bn the business rescue practitioners had sought to return SAPO to full solvency and liquidity, this reprieve presents strategic choices for consideration by the department on how to reengineer our country’s designated postal operator.
“We commend the Department of Employment and Labour for its commitment to safeguarding jobs and creating opportunities for training and further development of SAPO employees in line with its mandate. The SAPO and many other state-owned entities cannot survive and be viable without the active and intentional support of the rest of the government,” she said.
The Guardian 