Tembisa Old Age Home workers demand unpaid salaries
The centre was closed in July after the City of Ekurhuleni declared it was non-compliant
In a dramatic twist of events, Tembisa Old Age Home workers accused management of owing them salaries for two full months.
They also accused the centre of keeping them in the dark and of lack of communication.
Speaking to this paper on Monday afternoon on condition of anonymity, a number of employees stormed the Tembisan’s offices, where they revealed that the centre owes them salaries for the months of May and June.
“We worked day and night in those two months and were never paid. We were already in a go-slow mode and planning to go on strike when we were informed about the closure of the centre,” said the workers’ spokesperson.
“We have children and families who depend on us, but now we are left in the cold and in the dark. What is even more painful is the fact that we are not told anything. Management is quiet about this issue,” said the spokesperson.
The workers said they needed to know the time frames so they can start planning their future and maybe start looking for new employment.
“We can’t continue like this. Management isn’t saying anything about us or our pending salaries. We have been waiting for them to call us, but nothing happened. And we can’t really approach them because we know they will fire us on the spot because they run the centre the way they want to,” continued the spokesperson.
The centre was closed in July after the City of Ekurhuleni declared it was non-compliant.
Asked for comment, the centre manager, Connie Mbuqe, said they have been silent because they are also in the dark and without tangible information as to when everything would be back to normal.
She promised to communicate with the workers once everything has been cleared.
“Our employees know we depend solely on grants and our coffers ran dry and could not afford to pay their salaries. They were told and engaged with beforehand by the board during a meeting on July 5.
“It is a known fact that we need a compliance certificate before we could apply for grants. And as for the renovations, we are waiting for the town planning consultants to do their work. But I want to assure everyone that we will communicate with our workers and the community in general when the centre is up and running again,” commented Mbuqe.
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