The SABC will not be retrenching its employees this year.

This comes after a decision not to renew the notice of consultation on retrenchments which expired today.

In light of a growing wage bill among others, the SABC in September last year announced that it has taken a decision to retrench over 2,000 of its staff members, which consisted of 981 permanent staff as well as 1,200 freelancers.

According to the notice sent to staff on Thursday, the SABC has halted the retrenchment process for a period of 14 months pending a skills audit which will better inform them on who to keep and who to let go.

This decision was informed by  “constructive and extensive” meetings with the parliamentary portfolio committee on communications, labour organisations and SABC’s employees.

“All our stakeholders acknowledge the need to review the increase in costs, including the compensation bill, hence the need to conduct a thorough skills audit and related activities,” reads the notice.

“The success of a skills audit intervention is dependent on, amongst other things, current job profiles. In this regard, new job profiles will be formulated where necessary and current ones will be confirmed.”

The public broadcast believes that this process will take 14 months, meaning the consultation process will only resume in 2020.

“These will help the SABC in creating a fit-for-purpose structure, with clearly defined spans of control, appropriate layers of management and appropriate skills and competencies for roles.

This will also ensure that the SABC meets its strategic objective of operating optimally and competitively in a digitised environment,” the notice reads.