LIMPOPO – “The agreement seeks to facilitate a more conducive environment for service delivery by bringing clarity to nagging questions around shift, standby and night work allowance,” Thipa Selala, Spokesperson for Salga, said. He added the important agreement will make it easier for municipal employees to respond, without hesitation, to all emergency work that may need to be performed outside normal working hours.
The agreement, effective as from 1 October, will also regulate issues relating to taking additional sick leave, special sick leave for injury on duty, special leave for study purposes and recognition of long service. The five-year long condition of service collective agreement that ends in 2022, will bring in stability in the sector, as well as ensure good working relations between all the parties both at provincial and local levels, Selala said.
Some of the issues regulated by the agreement is that all employees, including security and emergency personnel, excluding section 56 and 57 managers, shall work a 40-hour working week.
Overtime will be as per the provisions governing overtime regulated by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (No 75 of 1997). Emergency work shall be regarded as overtime and shall not require prior consent. In the case of emergencies owing to circumstances for which an employer could not normally have made provision, a municipality may require an employee to perform emergency work outside his normal working hours and remuneration for such overtime worked shall be paid to the employee. Overtime limitations as set by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (No 75 of 1997) shall not apply to emergency work.
A shift allowance will be paid to employees who work both shifts and a six-day work week. A shift allowance is not applicable to employees who work only a five-day work week. A shift allowance is also payable to continuous process work where operations are running on a 24 hours, seven days a week system. Employees who currently received operational allowance or allowance to compensate for “inconvenience due to rosters” will not receive an additional shift allowance unless the employee chooses to conform from operational or other allowances over to a shift allowance, which comprises 10% of the employee’s monthly basic salary and is payable monthly.
Employees who exercise a choice to receive shift allowance are not entitled to night work allowance and employees who exercise a choice to receive night work allowance are not entitled to shift allowance.
Employees entitled to traffic/shift/security allowances prior to this agreement will continue to receive these allowances on a contractual-to-holder basis and will only qualify for overtime if they exceed their normal working hours.
