Apprentice plumbers battle to unblock stipends
"Due to the contract we have, we do not qualify for social relief funds since it states that we receive money."
Some students who are part of an Energy and Water Sector Education Training Authority (EWSETA) apprenticeship alleged that the service provider is failing to pay them. They claim that for the past five months they have not received their stipends.
On the students’ contracts, MTL Training and Projects is stated as the skills development provider. The students normally receive a monthly stipend of R2 500 each. It is an artisan occupational plumber apprenticeship. The programme consists of theory and practicals.
There are approximately 150 students who have been placed all over the City of Mbombela Local Municipality to do the practical part of their learnership.
Collen Nkosi, a students’ representatives, said they feel they have been let down.
“We have tried our best to reach out to the service provider’s Mbali Majola. She does not explain why we have not received our monthly stipends. We are committed to do our work as per agreement, however, we are at sites to which we need transport to reach those destinations.
“Some of us need to take three buses to get to the practical workplace and since this our only means of income, we sometimes cannot afford to get there. We are also concerned that if we fail to report for duty, it might affect our final assessment for the qualification associated with the learnership programme. Due to the contract we have, we do not qualify for social relief funds since it states that we receive money,” he explained.
The commence-ment date of the programme was supposed to be February 22, 2019 and end on February 21, 2022. However, they only started in April 2019. Nkosi alleged that the service provider also deducted money from their stipends.
“We do not understand why the money was deducted since our contracts state that we should receive the agreed learner allowance for the duration of the learnership. Dr Blade Nzimande, minister of higher education, science and technology, said we should receive our payments during lockdown, but we did not,” Nkosi explained.
In a press statement dated May 20 on ewseta.org.za, it states that, “please note that learner stipends are paid to service providers at predetermined intervals, subject to certain ‘non-negotiable’ requirements having been met”. Whereas service providers are required to submit specific information at each step of the process, the responsibility lies with students that they attend the theoretical training and sign the relevant attendance registers.
Lowvelder contacted Majola. She said, “We are dealing with the matter internally”.
In the contract CMLM is stated as the employer. Municipal spokesperson, Joseph Ngala, said, “The municipality remains a host employer in the sense that it provides facilities for training as well as for practical work, but it is not involved in the payment arrangements. Even with the already paid stipends, this money the students received from MTL, and not CMLM.
As to how much was agreed upon and the conditions thereof, please refer such questions to EWSETA and MTL. The contract they signed for this apprenticeship prohibits them from being employed by other companies, but the fact that they are nominally receiving an income means they are not eligible for social relief funds,” he explained.
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Nkosi said EWSETA recently held a meeting with them, however, the students are still uncertain about the future. At the time of going to press, EWSETA had not responded to the newspaper’s queries.
