SABC in gear to keep programming on air as strike hits

The SABC has on Thursday had to implement contingency plans to ensure regular programming on its TV and radio stations continued,  as employees embarked on a strike over salary increases.

SABC staff affiliated to the Broadcasting‚ Electronic Media and Allied Workers Union (Bemawu) embarked on a strike at the broadcaster's headquarters in Auckland Park, Johannesburg over salary increases‚ while negotiations continues between management‚ the Communications Workers’ Union‚ and Bemawu. 

A report by SABC News on Thursday morning claimed that programmes on several of the broadcaster's radio stations, including SAfm, would be impacted by the strike.

However, SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told TshisaLIVE, that some stations had been hit by the strike but that these were not major, and that the broadcaster had plans in place to make sure that all its stations would remain on air.

"We have said that we will be doing everything in our power to make sure that programmes go on air as planned and as far as I know all radio stations are on and all TV channels are on. I am not aware of programmes being disrupted. When there is a strike obviously somethings will be affected but these are not major. We are a broadcaster so we have contingency plans to make sure that broadcasts go on air. We have been on air since the strike started," he said.