The South African Police Union (Sapu) calls upon National Police Commissioner General Lieutenant Khehla Sitole to act with speed and provide leadership before it is too late.
This as the members of the union threatened to go on a full-blown strike even though the National Minister of Police Bheki Cele has called for speedy interventions to avert the strike.
It is still not yet clear when the members were planning to embark on this strike but efforts by the minister seem to be working.
On 14 March, Cele alongside Sitole, addressed the media in Parktown at the Gauteng Provincial Police offices to assure the disgruntled officers that their issues are being attended to.
The strike, according to the unions with over 77 000 affiliated members countrywide, is due to their grievances on work appointments and positions within the police force.
In their latest stunt, Sapu has called upon the South African police management to avert the looming strike by functionary members of the police based in police stations.
“We have noted with concern the debate among the disgruntled members over what they feel is the preferential treatment enjoyed by specialist units at the expense of police officers in police stations,” Tumelo Mogodiseng, the union’s general secretary said.
“We want to put it on record that we acknowledge and have made members aware of the fact that the police are categorised as an essential service and therefore not allowed to engage in industrial action. We do support these members of whom some have been on the same rank for more than a decade. We are calling upon the management to swallow its pride and come to its senses and avert this strike as it will cost the country dearly.”
Even if we do not witness a full-blown strike, however, the union claim that the mere talk of this industrial action is too much.
Mogodiseng said this situation has the potential to compromise service delivery. “A demotivated police service is a recipe for disaster and thus we call upon National Commissioner General Khehla Sitole to act with speed and provide leadership before it is too late.
“We are a worker-controlled and democratically led labour movement and as such, we have alerted members to the danger of engaging in an industrial strike. We cannot on our own rule out the possibility of this looming strike being a reality because we understand the frustration that these members are faced with.”
He warned that the police environment is military by orientation and therefore it is of paramount importance that they maintain cool heads. “We must not be viewed as alarmist by raising genuine concerns that disgruntled members could pose a serious threat to the stability of the country leading to the crucial general elections on 8 May.”
At the press briefing, Cele said he and Sitole will be meeting with all of the country’s 1 147 police stations’ management to address this matter at length soon.
Cele conceded that a total of 69 219 members within these grades are long overdue for progression considerations and further outlining the enlistments. “In addition, 914 members from specialised units, namely, the Special Task Force, TRT and National Intervention Unit including the commencement level of the Public Service Act personnel will be re-graded during this financial year.
“We call on the management to follow due process during the promotions and ensure deserving members are promoted. We also hope that this will boost the morale of the officers to enable them to execute their task optimally.”
Mogodiseng, however, said Cele didn’t address the outcry on the actual issues of the positions but the potential strike. “Thus we will consult with our members extensively within the confines of the law and we’ll also consider going as far as to the presidency to make our concerns heard.”
Details: www.sapolice.org.za
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https://northeasterntribune.co.za/228814/amid-reports-looming-police-strike-minister-police-bheki-cele-will-address-media-2/
