Trade union Solidarity has managed to halt job cuts at the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), at least until the end of the financial year in March, and is working to stop any retrenchments taking place at the agency.
The TIA last month stated it aims to conduct a major restructuring process to help it return to efficiency and overcome a long history of mismanagement. It warned the restructure would see retrenchments - with as many as a third of its current 193 employees potentially facing the axe.
However, Solidarity sector co-ordinator Jahni Cowley says the union and the TIA have agreed to extend the 60-day consultation period, "which gives us time to present a new company structure to management".
"The engagement with management has been very positive and, under the extension, we don't see anything happening until January next year. In addition, salaries have been budgeted for until the end of the current financial year [March next year], which means there is no reason for forced retrenchments to happen before then," says Cowley.
She adds the union is "working very hard" to ensure the new structure is in place by then, which could ensure all retrenchments are avoided.
Cowley notes the union has been given access to the TIA's consultants, who will help create a global picture of the company's structure and present it to the board.
Meanwhile, says Cowley, some employees have already agreed to take voluntary retrenchment packages. "We don't have accurate numbers yet, but it could be as many as 40. In a way, this does take pressure off the entire structure, but we don't know which skills we have lost. At this stage, it is difficult to say whether there has been a brain drain at the agency."
The TIA has seen much internal turmoil in the past year, and is now being overseen by Dr Rivka Kfir, who was appointed as interim CEO in May. This followed the dismissal of CEO Simphiwe Duma and CFO Barbara Kortjaas for misconduct and maladministration, uncovered by a forensic investigation completed earlier this year.
Adding to the agency's woes is the fact that its funding has been slashed by R130 million - to about R400 million - in the latest medium-term expenditure framework published by government, and market watchers have commented it has not been able to fulfil its mandate.
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