Neo Goba | 15 July, 2016 16:05
An entrance to the ANN7 Television and The New Age newspaper offices, owned by the Gupta family, is seen in Midrand, Johannesburg.
Image by: SIPHIWE SIBEKO / REUTERS
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has staged a protest against labour practices at the Gupta family-owned television station ANN7.
Members of the SACP on Friday demonstrated against the dismissal last month of nine ANN7 staff members for chasing away African National Congress Youth League president Collen Maine from their offices in April‚ amongst other concerns.
"We want to make it very clear‚ especially to the management [of ANN7]‚ that as the party‚ we had to rise in exasperation against the practice that is really unacceptable. We cannot allow workers to swelter under this heat of oppression‚" said SACP first provincial deputy secretary Mpapa Kanyane.
The SACP demanded that ANN7 management reinstates the nine axed workers and wants pay scales to be in line with industry standards. They also want management to communicate with workers more as‚ they say‚ structural decisions are taken without consultation.
The SACP‚ in solidarity with 133 ANN7 and The New Age employees‚ has given the management 17 days to respond to their memorandum of demands.
Editor-In-Chief of The New Age‚ Moegsien Williams‚ received and signed the memorandum on behalf of the company.
Failure to respond within the stipulated period‚ the Communists told Williams‚ would see the SACP take up the issues with the Public Protector's office and even the Constitutional Court if needs be.
SACP provincial chairperson Joe Mpisi accused ANN7 management of applying the same set of unethical behaviour as the South African Broadcasting Corporation board members.
"We marched to the SABC about the same problems that you are practising here. We thought you were different but you are the same as SABC‚ you are no different to [SABC chief operating officer] Hlaudi Motsoeneng. You are practising what he is doing and it is being transferred to your organisation‚" said Mpisi‚ to which the crowd burst into laughter.
Maine had tried to address the staff members after an open letter was written to the country’s four major banks requesting them to restore relations with the Gupta-owned companies. The banks had cut ties with parent company Oakbay in the wake of accusations by politicians and others that its owners‚ the Gupta family‚ were exerting improper influence over President Jacob Zuma and other allegations of state capture.
Friday's picketers carried placards saying "Reinstate dismissed workers now"‚ "#GuptaMedia ANN7/TNA stop harassing workers" and "Gupta TV undermining SA sovereignty".