Unemployment has risen in Ikageng after the municipality laid off about 184 workers, claiming that their contracts had come to an end.
The men and women, who are mostly breadwinners, say they were employed under the mayoral project and were promised permanent work.
They are demanding to be reinstated and believe corruption and nepotism are the order of the day at the municipality.
Their suspicions stem from the failure of the municipality to follow the correct procedures when hiring employees. According to Joseph Koki, one of the workers, the municipality does not adhere to the labour relations act or the basic conditions of employment.
He says the workers who were laid off have already lodged cases against the council at the Department of Labour.
Koki says the absurd way of appointing contract workers started in 2014 when they signed a one-page contract and were never given copies of it.
‘We never received payslips for the duration of our employment and the majority of us did not receive any UIF. We all signed the same contract and performed the same duties but some workers were paid R2 034 while others got R4 800 a month,’ he complained. ‘It shows that politics was involved and that some workers were being rewarded by a certain political party.’
For the first few months after their appointment, Koki says, they received cheques as a means of payment. Thereafter, money was deposited into their bank accounts without any payslips. He says this was an indication of the unprofessionalism of the municipality. ‘
How were we supposed to know what was due to us?’ he said.
Moeketsane Jantjie says he was injured while on duty and was taken to the hospital. The municipality made no attempt to follow up on his condition or health and said they were not responsible for his well- being. He says he is not the only one who was treated like that.
Boniwe Mkhoma says she was one of three female workers who went on maternity leave. Only one of them was paid while she was away from work. She also claims that some of the women could not renew their child grants because, according to the Sassa (SA Social Services Agency) database, they were permanent employees of the municipality. ‘There is something wrong in that municipality,’ she said.
Koki says it was a slap in their face when the municipality hired new staff on a permanent basis in 2016.
‘The EPWP workforce was there for two years and had the experience and the skills set but they were not even considered,’ he said.
At the time of print, the Department of Labour had still not responded to the media enquiries.
*This is a developing story.
Council Spokersperson, Willie Maphosa responds: Council spokesperson, Willie Maphosa responds
You can read the full story on our App. Download it here.
