Administrator to lead rescue plan at strike-hit SA Post Office
The South African government has appointed an administrator to lead a rescue plan at the South African Post Office, after months of disruption caused by striking workers. The appointment of Dr Simo Lushaba as administrator came last week as the company’s non-executive board members all resigned.
Lushaba will lead a technical team that will aim to stabilise the organisation, resolve the strike and look for short-term measures to reduce the financial “bleeding” at the Post Office.
The administrator and his team has been given three months by the government to turn the situation around and restore public and business confidence in the Post Office.
The South African Post Office said Lushaba was a “well-respected industry captain” with a “solid track record” across various industries. He is currently a non-executive director of South Africa’s third-largest gold mining company, Harmony Gold, as well as listed ICT company Spescom Limited and building material supplies firm Cashbuild.
He was a member of the Presidential Review Committee on State-Owned Entities, the firm added.
The loss-making South African Post Office has been facing strike action for much of the year, with the latest conflict erupting over the summer, following protests about the slow conversion of part-time jobs into full-time roles. The strike action has been far from peaceful, with nine arrests made by police regarding claims of violence and intimidation, with dozens more cases under investigation.
The Post Office said on Monday that there was now “noticeable progress” on negotiations with the three unions to resolve issues behind the strike action.
In a statement, the company said: “These negotiations are still on-going with the view to achieving consensus on a workable proposal, specifically in consideration of the financial challenges that are currently experienced by the company and exacerbated by the inability to restore full operations. On these bases, we urge sensible calm amongst employees and all the affected parties until a final settlement is announced.”
Meanwhile, the Post Office said that there were also signs of recovery in operations hit by strike action, including full attendance of staff at the Witspos facility, one of the company’s mail mail hubs.
