CCMA Orders ANN7 Reinstate Asanda Magaqa, Awards Damages

The CCMA has ruled that ANN7's dismissal of Asanda Magaqa late last year was unfair andhas awared damages.

Asanda left ANN7 late last year when she was unfairly dismissed for allegedly assaulting a colleague, making death threats and insubordination. Hajra Omarjee represented Asanda during the internal disciplinary process and after the outcome of this process was revealed, Omarjee too decided to resign in what eventually became an exodus of experienced journalists including prime time anchor Chantal Rutter Dros.

When Asanda left the channel, her excellent Sunday morning media show, Between the Lines was also 'suspended,' with the channel saying the format was not working and that it would return as soon as its format had been tweaked. We are still waiting for it to return.

The CCMA has ordered ANN7 to pay Asanda the sum of R500 000, the equivalent of ten months' salary. [It must be really awkward having your salary revealed in that way especially in journalism where salaries vary greatly].

Though the CCMA also ordered ANN7 to reinstate Asanda, whether she would go back is another thing. For monthd after her dismissal she continuously tweeted that she was done doing television altogether and when one Tweeter (I think that is what they are called) asked her when she would return, she replied by saying that she served her sentence on television already. [Either way, I would still absolutely LOVE to have an established and talented journalist like Asanda back on ANN7, a channel that now has very few experienced reporters].

On the victory, Asanda tweeted, "Thank you my friends... Your messages in my DM's & WhatsApp gave me strength... Your prayers kept me going :-)"

[Asanda please come back].