‘The termination of their contracts is political and is unfair dismissal’
THE termination of employment contracts for workers at the premier’s office in KwaZulu-Natal has raised the ire of Cosatu, which has since launched a fresh bid to counter the move.
The labour federation is accusing Premier Willies Mchunu of “deliberately ignoring” their pleas for his office to cease terminating workers’ contracts.
In June, the Sunday Tribune reported that jobs were on the line for some in the premier’s office. This was after workers were given “revised employment contracts” after the resignation of former premier Senzo Mchunu.
About 20 people had since been given the boot, sources said. The employees said they had not received their salaries last month.
As a result, they couldn’t pay for their bonds or car instalments. The workers included those who were the premier’s support staff to those who dealt with catering and gardening chores at the premier’s official residence in Pietermaritzburg.
The revised contracts which the Sunday Tribune has seen, spelt out that the term of office for employees was linked to that of former premier Mchunu, who resigned in May. But the angry employees said their understanding was that their jobs were secure until 2019.
Cosatu has leapt to the defence of the workers with provincial secretary Edwin Mkhize saying the termination of contracts was “unjustifiable, unnecessary and irresponsible. These people have bonds, fees to pay and food to buy. We can’t sit and watch, we have to do something,” he said.
Mkhize said they had urged Mchunu to retain staff mem- bers he inherited from the previous administration. “It’s unacceptable that when comrades take office they start purging people. It’s sad because this thing is done by our comrades,” he said.
“The termination of the contracts is political and tantamount to unfair dismissal”.
An employee who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “my head is buzzing I don’t know how I’m going to pay my bills”. The person also questioned why they were not paid their salaries when they had worked the whole month.
Spokesman for the office of the premier, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, said they believed it was totally wrong and “counterproductive” to politicise the situation.
He said: “The premier has committed himself to dealing with this matter. It is in the pipeline”.