Retrenched Post Office workers unhappy with severance package deal

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Over 5000 retrenched Post Office workers will start receiving their pension benefits this month. The cash-strapped state-owned company confirmed this in a statement on Friday.

The entity’s Joint Business Rescue practitioners, Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons say they have completed all necessary administration requirements regarding the payment of the first portion of severance packages to retrenched employees.

But the workers say they are not happy with the proposed arrangement of receiving their benefits in instalments. The company met with workers’ representatives in Pretoria on Friday.

The South African Post Office Business Rescue practitioners say they will begin to make early payments of the first tranche of the retrenchment packages this week. This is earlier than the end of June, that was previously agreed with organised labour and the Employee Committee.

The workers were dismissed in April, without receiving any of their benefits.

Acting Head of Legal for the Business Rescue Practitioners, Mukovhe Ravhura, has dismissed suggestions that the Post Office was failing to make the payments.

“As we are sitting here guys already, a touch base has been issued clarifying that payment is coming. Whoever said payment is not coming, that’s a lie. Payment is coming. You will start receiving your payment from next week. Next week you will start receiving your payments, from next week. Payments are being loaded. You will start receiving your payments from next week,” says Mukovhe Ravhura, Acting Head of Legal for the Business Rescue Practitioners.

However, some former employees are not happy with the current arrangement as they would prefer to receive their benefits in full.

“We are here, we need all that money because it’s a little money, you can say that maybe that severance package is for example most of us here, we served the company for about 10 years, some of the money is less than R50 000 or R60 000, it’s not making sense when you say you want to give this person their money in instalment because maybe you get R20 000, we want all our money, we don’t want the money in instalment, we want all our money,” says Victor Matjila, Retrenched Post Office Employee.

According to a joint statement by the Post Office business practitioners, tranche 2 and 3 payments of the severance packages, will be made in September and November 2024 respectively.

Post Office workers question retrenchment agreement: