
Dear all
It is with great sadness that the South African Typographical Union’s Executive Council and endorsed by the Union’s Governing Board announce the permanent closure of the SATU Bloemfontein office.
The office was closed effective 1 July 2021, however, the decision still needed endorsement from all structures, and the chaos caused by the third wave meant that getting communication out once the decision was taken has been difficult.
Rationale
A historically sparse region, the Free State and Northern Cape region has been in decline over an extended period of time in terms of businesses in the sector operating and by extension membership to SATU. Over the years, this, coupled with large scale job losses, mostly attributed to COVID-19 and the effect it has had on the sector in both provinces, signs of growth that were beginning to emerge from the Free State team’s work in places such as Reitz, Ladybrand, De Aar and Upington have been almost entirely wiped out in the past 12 months. The overhead cost of running the office on an ever-shrinking revenue base became an issue that had to be addressed by the Union’s leadership. Thus, a process to review the status of the office was started and concluded. We can take solace in that no staff member was retrenched during this process.
The Way Forward
Considering these developments, SATU stays committed to continue servicing members in the region using a hybrid model by the Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg offices respectively. This will ensure that the Union remains visible as well continues to fight the good fight for workers in the sector in both provinces.
Members are once again encouraged to save the SATU WhatsApp contact 066 327 7214 to get in touch with us regarding any queries. Members can also get in touch via social media. You can also contact one of the region officers below.
Contact us
HQ - Pretoria - Mr. K Makhathini - 066 111 1702
Gauteng - Mrs. X Mavuso - 066 140 5844
Eastern Cape - Mr. T Pata - 079 591 3603
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