“Hundreds of committed reporters at the SABC need to have the freedom to meet their commitment to South Africa as members of a public broadcaster. The atmosphere of fear that is reported to exist at the SABC does not bode well for journalists trying to do their job, a job that is crucial for a healthy democracy. We hope the COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng cloud will pass soon after the upcoming local elections, when he will have finished serving his current purpose.
“The SABC has done the right thing not to appeal the Labour Court’s order to reinstate its former employees. This group of producers and reporters have been vindicated for the principled stance they took and we congratulate them for standing their ground. This group’s return to work is not the end of this story, though.
“We have tasked the vice chair, Martin Slabbert-Capper, to engage with SANEF and others to take this process further,” concluded Meersman.
