Social workers struggle to eke out a living
DRIVEN by their compassion for abused and neglected children, many men and women joined child welfare organisations in the hope of making a difference.
But staff at the Durban Child Welfare say their spirit to be of service has been crushed because they are not being properly compensated for their work and have not received salary increases or bonuses since 2014.
Welfare employees and affiliated organisations such as the Lakehaven Child and Youth Care Centre, the William Clark Gardens Othandweni Child and Youth Care Centre and the Edith Benson Babies Home, took their plight to the CCMA and embarked on a strike in the hope of some recourse.
Earning less than R12 000 a month, a senior social worker from Durban South said she struggled to pay her bills.
“I joined the strike because I have been in the field for 10 years, and since 2014 I have been earning the same salary. The cost of living has increased drastically and paying necessities like my electricity bill, buying groceries and even filling petrol has been a challenge,” said the mother of two, who declined to be named.
She said social workers had remained quiet for too long.
“The work we do is out of compassion, but we also need to be properly remunerated.
“We are being taken advantage of. We have families to take care of as well. I have two children, who are in school, and I need to support and provide for them.”
Another social worker said apart from the salaries, their service conditions were poor.
“I was bitten by a client and had to fork out my own money for additional treatment.
“What we do is not easy. We deal with children with difficult temperaments and some with serious anger issues. It’s a risk every day but the organisation does not see this.”
She said they did not get maternity leave.
“Our rights as women are being violated and as we stand and strike outside the organisation, the children are suffering inside. We work on a number of cases at a time and it has taken a toll on us.”
A mother of two, a child and youth care worker, added that they earned between R2 500 and R5 000 a month.
“We work long hours to ensure the children are cared for, but nothing is shown for our efforts.
“We are struggling and the organisation is doing nothing to help us. We have our own families to care for, coupled with our rent and travel costs.”
The regional secretary for the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), Ayanda Zulu, said the employees had not received an increase for several years.
“Some salaries are below minimum wage.
“Most of our funding comes from the Department of Social Development, so there are funds available to pay workers.
“We want the president of the board (Rajen Pillay) to step down because we believe he is not running things properly. We also want the department to conduct a forensic investigation into how the money is being utilised.”
The spokesperson for the department in KZN, Ncumisa Ndele, said they would look into the matter.
Pillay could not be reached for comment.