Call for nomination of Post Office board questioned

Unions have questioned the decision to call for the nomination of board members at the South African Post Office while it remains under business rescue.

The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has invited nominations for suitable candidates before the end of this month.

The business rescue practitioners took control of the embattled Post Office in July 2023 after it had been operating at a loss every year since 2013.

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) says there is confusion in relation to the powers that can bring back by a board.

The CWU contends that the only way a board can return to the South African Post Office is once all the elements in the business rescue plan have been carried out. The Post Office went into business rescue in July 2023 in a bid to salvage the embattled entity.

CWU National Bargaining Coordinator, Nathen Bowers has questioned whether new funds will be injected to enable the board to function.

“A board is appointed after the BRP’s in this case in SAPO has ensured that a board doesn’t inherit a broken Post Office. At the moment there is no Post Office. We have called upon the government to put out a statement to assure both office workers, the communities and the workers families that they are able to put up this monies.”

Meanwhile, an HR expert has weighed in on the challenges recruiters often face when recruiting for companies that have suffered long reputational damage like the SA Post Office.

“Because it is a board you appoint an executive search firm and it’s going to be a tough one. As you know, in the past we have some companies that was involved in corruption and fraud. There’s one company in the financial services and I know in the consulting firm up until today, whenever an employee of that company applies for a role, you know, we actually checked the time frame. Were they at the company between such a date so forth and also what department they were part of,” says Brenda Gobi, HR specialist.

The CWU believes that if funding for the South African Post Office is not allocated in this week’s national budget, the entity will likely face liquidation.