VIDEO: Police call centre staff march to Union buildings
Police instability is impacting on the 10111 emergency call centre workers negatively.
Striking police call centre operators marched to the Union Buildings on Monday to press home their demands for regrading, salary adjustments and equal treatment with other government employees doing similar work.
The marchers accused police minister Fikile Mbalula of not doing his work and demanded that he give in to their demands.
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Deputy provincial chairperson of the South African Policing Union (SAPU) Peter Ntsime said 10111 emergency call centre staff embarked on the march to submit their memorandum of demands to the presidency at the Union Buildings.
He said among others they demanded that they be regraded from level five to seven “and not be made constables”.
“Keep your level five, we want level seven. We didn’t go on strike to be constables but to be graded level seven,” read some of the placards held by the marchers, who chanted peacefully as they made their way to the Union Buildings.
They also demanded to be paid on par with call centre operators in other spheres of government.
Secretary-general of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) Zwelinzima Vavi criticised the police leadership for failing to respond to the workers’ plight.
He started with the former police commissioner Riah Phiyega, whom he said did not have the right qualifications for that office.
He said instability in the police service was impacting on the 10111 emergency call centre operators negatively.
Vavi said when another former acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane replaced Phiyega he changed the whole agreement even though he was aware of its origin.
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“He undermined the agreement. Instead of meeting your demands that you be graded level seven he changed the conditions of your employment knowing very well the conditions will disadvantage some of you,” Vavi told the marchers.
He said: “Clowns that are more concerned with being popular on Twitter than solving the problems that workers are facing should be removed from office.”
The workers agreed with Vavi saying Mbalula should go back to the department of sports “because he does not have time to engage us as he is forever on Twitter and Facebook”.
Chairperson of the 10111 Midrand branch, Bethwell Nkuna read out the grievances before handing the memorandum to Calvin Humbles who accepted it on behalf of the presidency.
Humbles said he would pass on the memorandum to the relevant parties who will give feedback within seven working days.
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