Most state-owned entities to cut jobs

Thousands of employees at state-owned entities are facing a jobs bloodbath as several troubled parastatals are in the process of cutting workers in an effort to stay afloat.

State oil company PetroSA will today meet labour unions in a second consultation as its ongoing section 189 which has put 500 jobs on the line is going ahead.

This comes as 311 employees at Autopax, a subsidiary of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) which owns Translux and City to City buses, are also at risk of being retrenched after unions were served with a notice three weeks ago.

The retrenchments follow those at SABC more than 620 people lost their jobs last month. Deputy President David Mabuza also announced that Eskom plans to cut 4,000 jobs last month.

PetroSA, which employs 1,200 employees, is consulting its unions as it prepares to shed around 40% of its workforce in a bid to address its dire financial situation.

Irvin Jim, secretary of National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), said they believe that PetroSA has been "sabotaged and collapsed" by numerous costly wrong decisions taken by its management.

Jim said Numsa would be demanding answers during the section 189 process as losses incurred in some of the projects undertaken are the reason the company is in a financial crisis.

Prasa acting general manager for corporate affairs, Bane Ndlovu, confirmed that Autopax has issued notices to unions about a section 189 process. "The company has approached the CCMA to facilitate the process and can unfortunately not give more information until the consultation process has commenced," Ndlovu said.

SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) passenger bus national coordinator Solomon Mahlangu said: "We have concerns because we've been pushing for Autopax to be a division within Prasa, not a subsidiary to assist its poor financial situation."

Mahlangu said they believe that job cuts are not a solution as problems at Autopax will still continue even after staff gets reduced.

"We believe that Autopax challenges are self-made as management has not been competent in the management of assets and running an efficient bus service," Mahlangu said.

National Union of Mineworkers' energy sector coordinator Khangela Baloyi said there were job cuts currently happening at Eskom already, which they are against.

"For example, if a division has five engineers, and two resign, they don't get replaced as the remaining three have to do the jobs of five engineers," Baloyi said.

He said Eskom was using natural attrition to cut jobs in line with its turnaround strategy. 

"We are worried because people left in Eskom get overworked, some are stressed, especially at technical areas," Baloyi said.