Vavi tells Mbalula: talk less, do more
SALARIES: 10111 CALL CENTRE WORKERS MARCH Suspended police commissioner ‘listens to his R80 000 music system’.
South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has taken pot shots at Police Minister Fikile Mbalula, saying there should be less talk, jive, rhetoric and shiny suites with bow ties and more action.
He said the minister must instead fix the problems of the workers.
Vavi was addressing about 100 staff members of the police’s 10111 call centre, who marched to the police headquarters in Pretoria demanding better salaries.
They gave government seven days to respond to their demands, which include to be upgraded to a level 7 salary scale (R226 211 p/a).
He also took a swing at suspended national acting commissioner Khomotso Phahlane, saying he was correctly suspended “because he tried to undermine an agreement with former national police commissioner Riah Phiyega”.
“Wherever you (Phahlane) are, continue playing the music from your R80 000 music system,” Vavi said to the delight of the marchers.
In 2013, the 10111 staff met Phiyega and the then Gauteng provincial police chief Lesetja Mothiba – who has now been appointed interim acting national police commissioner – to address members’ concerns regarding their salary level at the police call centre.
A task team recommended on the report that the salary level at 10111 should be upgraded to salary level 7, which was also approved by the provincial management and the benchmark report was send to Phahlane for approval.
According to Saftu, a task team was formed to benchmark 10111 staff salaries against other government call centres, including home affairs, SA Social Security Agency, SA Revenue Service, Crime Stop and presidential hotline call centres.
But after the evaluation was completed in October last year, Phahlane said post will be converted to constable post as stated in the Police Act.
South African Police Union deputy chairperson Peter Ntsime said: “The police do not want to take the members seriously and also don’t want to come on board at the bargaining council.
“We are now going to give the minister seven days to address the issue and if he fails to do that, we will have to close all the call centres.”
Vavi said the police want to convert the 10111 staff from the Public Service Act into the Police Act.
“They will take only those who are below the age of 45,” Vavi said. –