Ministers for court face-off
THREE ministers are set to be hauled before the Labour Court for failing to honour its ruling, forcing them to negotiate with unions representing the SA Social Security Agency’s (Sassa) employees in wage negotiations.
The latest legal action comes as millions of social grant beneficiaries are expected to find out today whether or not there will be a repeat of glitches experienced last month.
On Friday, Mfoloe Incorporated, the legal firm representing the Public Servants Association of SA (PSA), notified the union that they had sent letters to Social Development Minister Susan Shabangu, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene, and Public Service and Administration Minister Ayanda Dlodlo.
“We further wish to confirm that a letter will be dispatched to the three ministers placing them on terms and further alerting them of our intended court action,” reads the letter from Pogiso Mfoloe of Mfoloe Incorporated.
The PSA believe the three ministers are in contempt of the Labour Court ruling after Shabangu’s attempt to obtain an urgent interdict to prevent strike action by Sassa employees failed.
Dlodlo instructed Sassa to implement the public service wage agreement, which the PSA maintains does not extend to the agency’s employees as they negotiate at a separate bargaining council.
“It is therefore our client’s instruction that an application be launched to compel and declare the ‘determination’ not relevant or applicable to Sassa and the relevant ministries to go to the negotiation table as per the court order of July 4. It is common cause that Sassa has done everything in its power to frustrate the process,” said Mfoloe.
PSA deputy general manager Tahir Maepa told Independent Media the ministers had refused to engage with the union despite the Labour Court ordering them to return to the negotiating table.
He said the government was under the illusion that the public sector wage deal could be simply implemented at Sassa.
Maepa said the union would not go on strike and give the government an excuse to ask the Constitutional Court to extend Cash Paymaster Services’ (CPS) illegal contract to disburse grants.
PSA members at Sassa are also demanding that the agency stop paying CPS for functions that they are now performing.
Sassa and the SA Post Office (Sapo) have reassured the almost 700 000 grant beneficiaries that this month’s payment cycle will be without the glitches experienced at the beginning of July.
On Monday, Sapo assured beneficiaries that it had completed the upgrading of its Sassa social grants information technology system in time for the end-of-July payments cycle, which started today.
Sapo said the upgrades would give it capacity to process payment transactions involving social grant beneficiaries who have migrated to the new gold Sassa card.
Sapo says it is paying 2.8 million beneficiaries for the month of August through the new gold Sassa card as well as the Postbank’s Mzansi accounts. More than 2.7m beneficiaries have been moved to the new Sassa card to date.