The office of the Premier confirmed today that they received a memorandum demanding the end to job cuts from the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu).
Spokesman Zibonele Mncwango said the head of the provincial government, David Mabuza, will respond in 5 days.
“Nehawu had demanded that he responds in 7 days but Mabuza said he would respond in 5 days, which is next week Tuesday (22 November 2016),” Mncwango said.
Nehawu marched and demanded to see Mabuza on Thursday morning over a variety of issues, including the government’s job cut.
The government is currently engaged on a process called a moratorium – to reduce public expenditure by cutting public jobs.
Nehawu provincial secretary Welcome Mnisi said they were demanding that the Premier lift the moratorium as it has a negative effect on service delivery.
“There are a lot of issues that are in the memorandum which the premier received, including that the government reviews the bursary benefits to include everything that the student needs and that all services rendered to the government must be in-sourced, away with the tender system because it doesn’t create decent jobs for members of the community,” Mnisi said.
Mnisi said the bursary policy made it hard for students to receive food, transport and accommodation “there way it is structured”.
He said their issues concerned all departments in Mabuza’s government, that’s why they wanted to speak to him and not an MEC.
He said they were also demanding the safety of workers across the government departments to be prioritised and the need for enough protective clothing was raised in their memorandum.
“Sometimes a clinic, hospital or school is dilapidated and the government is not doing anything to renovate it and we have a list of these structures are deteriorating and we say let them be renovated,” Mnisi said.
Mabuza had earlier sent Agriculture Minister Vusi Shongwe to receive the memorandum from the marchers but the marchers rejected Shongwe, saying they didn’t want him.
Mnisi said Mabuza promised he would call them to come sit down with all 10 MECs and discuss the issues that they were raising in the memorandum.
He said they also wanted all community workers, lay-councillors, home based care workers, etc to be employed by the government and not by individuals in order to create decent jobs for all people in South Africa.
(edited by ZK)
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