Monash South Africa: Security staff get 1,5 rate
Monash security staff members finally get 1,5 times their wage on Sundays, after being underpaid for a year.
The Monash South Africa chairperson of the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) congratulated his comrades on Monday 9 September on their achievement regarding the illegality with security staff contracts .
Pier Paolo Frassinelli, Monash South Africa lecturer and chairperson of their Nehawu branch earlier approached the Record with complaints that the campus protection services (CPF) staff haven’t received the correct remuneration for Sunday shifts for over a year.
The Nehawu members on campus have been putting up informative posters and trying to negotiate with the human resources department on the matter. In an email on Sunday 8 September, Frassinelli announced that discussions with the human resources department finally resulted in their acknowledgement of the Sunday remuneration rule, as stated in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997.
“An employer must pay an employee who works on a Sunday at double the employee’s wage for each hour worked, unless the employee ordinarily works on a Sunday, in which case the employer must pay the employee at one and one-half times the employer’s wage for each hour worked,” in terms of Chapter 2, Section 16 of the Act.
The Monash South Africa Nehawu branch was proud to announce this achievement. Frassinelli stated in the mass email that “it was agreed that the CPF staff who ordinarily works on a Sunday will be paid 1,5 times the normal hourly wage for working on Sundays from September.
“This is to be affected in the next pay run.”
The Nehawu members still believe that another issue should be addressed and resolved in terms of the Sunday remuneration rule.
“The CPF staff deserve corrective remuneration for the illegal contract that they were made to sign and that bullied them out of proper Sunday remuneration for over a year,” a Nehawu member said to the Record.
Frassinelli could not communicate any official comment from Monash South Africa to the Record on the remuneration lost. It remains unclear whether CPF staff will be compensated for this breach of the law.
