Workers angry after demand to repay R4m in ‘bonuses’

An early Christmas bonanza received by 29 economic development employees in 2015 could backfire after the department issued letters demanding they pay back the money.

The department has now embarked on a process of recovering a total of R4m paid to the employees after their salary notches were apparently irregularly raised and they also received backpay dating back to 2012.

However, the livid employees say their salary notches were upgraded as per a memorandum that was approved by then MEC Mbulelo Sogoni.

The payments were made in 2015 after the workers were upgraded in February that year.

They were downgraded again in January 2016, subject to a challenge in the labour court.

The department received a ruling in its favour and now has served the employees with letters alerting them to monthly deductions to their salaries.

The workers are incensed by the decision.

“All officials who were upgraded as per that memorandum were never downgraded and are still benefiting, although the department is saying the memorandum was wrong,” said one of the workers, Makhosonke Mpetsheni.

The department’s spokespeson, Ncedo Lisani, confirmed the department had embarked on a process of recovering the funds.

In a letter seen by the Daily Dispatch, the department’s head, Bongani Gxilishe, informs the affected employees that the department was busy calculating how much each employee would pay back monthly.

“Please be advised that the department is intending to increase the interim reduction of R100 which was agreed upon between yourself and the employer to be implemented pending adjudication.”

Gxilishe goes on to indicate that due to the high amounts the department paid to the employees, the amounts the department will deduct will be no less than R1,000 a month.

“You are therefore required to sign the attached formal acknowledgement of debt form in respect of the amount owing to the department by no later than 48 hours of receiving this.

“Your failure or refusal to sign the attached acknowledgement of debt forms will not stop the department from recovering the monies owing on March 1 2019,” Gxilishe warns in his letter.

However, the employees are planning on challenging the labour court judgment.

Their legal teams will argue that section 38(2)(b)(i) of the Public Service Act 103 of 1994, used as a basis for recovering the funds by the department, was unconstitutional.

Officials who were upgraded as per that memo... still benefit from it