Parliament has heard shocking details of bankruptcy, chronic labour unrest & unpaid wages at the Post Office.

CAPE TOWN – Parliament has heard shocking details of bankruptcy, chronic labour unrest, unpaid wages and the ever increasing pile of undelivered mail as the Post Office strike drags on.

South African Post Office (Sapo) workers have been on strike for over three months demanding permanent posts and wage hikes

Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Siyabonga Cwele and post office executives are being grilled by Members of Parliament this afternoon.

Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services, Mmamoloko Kubayi, had sharp words for Sapo executives who briefed the committee.

She said a postal worker had called her at 6:30am to complain they had not yet been paid.

In reply, Cwele told the committee that for the second month running, there has been a cash flow problem holding up salary payments.

A Sapo executive ensured the committee that all payments would be completed later today.

The Post Office has been experiencing a sharp dip in revenue and is posting a loss of more than R500 million this year, the first year it has operated without a government subsidy.

(Edited by Gadeeja Abbas)