Mdantsane FM workers have vowed to continue with their strike until the entire Mdantsane FM board comes to listen to their grievances.
The Daily Dispatch understands that just the board chairman, Bethwell Zulu, was present at a meeting between workers and management on Monday afternoon following a worker strike that erupted in the morning.
Disgruntled presenters, newsreaders and producers turned off the radio and sat peacefully at their Mdantsane City mall studios, hoping the management would come and talk to them.
Hours later, the station manager, Xabiso Gqirana, had neither arrived to talk to staff nor even called.
A concerned member of the management, known to the Dispatch as DJ Tanana, later called Gqirana to come to the station immediately.
On Monday the station fell silent after negotiations with management stalled.
Staff agreed to have music played on Tuesday.
Later that day, standby presenters and some of the weekend presenters started doing the weekday shows.
Workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they feared being victimised, said the management was not addressing their concerns with urgency. “We have not been given a clear date as to when we will be sitting for our next meeting to discuss resolutions.
“We were told that it would take time to bring the board together.
“They will drag this whole process out with the hope that we will give in and go back to work,” said one worker.
Another worker said: “We are not fighting only for ourselves, but for those who will come after us. This is supposed to be a platform for us to learn and be empowered, but we aren’t getting that from Mdantsane FM.
“We slave away every day, hoping that things will change one day. Some of us are breadwinners at home and are reliant on the stipend that we are supposed to be getting here.”
The protest is over allegations of mismanagement of funds and non-transparency from management.
It is alleged that Gqirana is the only one who knows what money comes in and is spent by the station.
Stipends were not being paid out and there was very little communication between workers and management, strikers said.
Mdantsane FM management remains mum on the strike.
Gqirana could not be reached for comment, despite numerous attempts to contact him. — sisiphoz@dispatch.co.za
Strike at radio station to continue
The Daily Dispatch understands that just the board chairman, Bethwell Zulu, was present at a meeting between workers and management on Monday afternoon following a worker strike that erupted in the morning.
Disgruntled presenters, newsreaders and producers turned off the radio and sat peacefully at their Mdantsane City mall studios, hoping the management would come and talk to them.
Hours later, the station manager, Xabiso Gqirana, had neither arrived to talk to staff nor even called.
A concerned member of the management, known to the Dispatch as DJ Tanana, later called Gqirana to come to the station immediately.
On Monday the station fell silent after negotiations with management stalled.
Staff agreed to have music played on Tuesday.
Later that day, standby presenters and some of the weekend presenters started doing the weekday shows.
Workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they feared being victimised, said the management was not addressing their concerns with urgency. “We have not been given a clear date as to when we will be sitting for our next meeting to discuss resolutions.
“We were told that it would take time to bring the board together.
“They will drag this whole process out with the hope that we will give in and go back to work,” said one worker.
Another worker said: “We are not fighting only for ourselves, but for those who will come after us. This is supposed to be a platform for us to learn and be empowered, but we aren’t getting that from Mdantsane FM.
“We slave away every day, hoping that things will change one day. Some of us are breadwinners at home and are reliant on the stipend that we are supposed to be getting here.”
The protest is over allegations of mismanagement of funds and non-transparency from management.
It is alleged that Gqirana is the only one who knows what money comes in and is spent by the station.
Stipends were not being paid out and there was very little communication between workers and management, strikers said.
Mdantsane FM management remains mum on the strike.
Gqirana could not be reached for comment, despite numerous attempts to contact him. — sisiphoz@dispatch.co.za
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