Furious fired workers at Mzwanele Manyi's shuttered Afro Worldview channel that was canned from MultiChoice's DStv on Friday filed an urgent application in the Labour Court in Johannesburg, accusing Mzwanele Manyi of not following proper procedure when they were suddenly told not to return to work.
MultiChoice dumped the controversial Afro Worldview (rebranded after Mzwanele Manyi took over the formerly Gupta-owned ANN7 in a "vendor licensing" buy-out) in late-August, after it announced in January that ANN7 will be shut down since MultiChoice decided not to renewed the contract of the controversial channel.
Hundreds of workers now left without jobs are saying that Mzwanele Manyi should have given them more notice.
The workers' legal representative Tasso Anestidis says Mzwanele Manyi knew in January that MultiChoice would be dumping Afro Worlview and that his company should have complied with labour regulations stating that there be 60 days consultative processes before workers are asked to vacate a workplace premises.
Workers now want a declaratory order to compel Mzwanele Manyi's company to pay them what’s legally due to them.
"We want a declaratory order that proper lawful procedures will be followed. All the employees must receive severance pay, at the very least notice pay."
