Giyani workers confront deputy minister over unpaid wages

LIMPOPO – Protesting workers confronted the Presidency’s Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Deputy Minister Seiso Mohai during his visit to the Giyani Water Treatment Plant on Tuesday. They accused government departments of neglecting local SMMEs by deliberately halting payments.

The deputy minister was at the plant as part of his monitoring programme when he encountered protesting workers at the gate. He was accompanied by Mopani Mayor Pule Shayi.

Workers detail hardships

Kulani Makhubele, who represented a group of SMMEs, created a scenario for the deputy minister, telling him that the project had slowed because government departments were withholding payments, leaving contractors unable to pay workers.

“The situation is dire. As we speak, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) site office is closed because employees working (for a contractor) have not been paid,” he said. “What is even more worrying is that this company has now vanished with its tools, so for Mohai to come and claim to be monitoring a project that is not functioning is an insult to us.”

“Another problem is that these companies use a no-work-no-pay policy,” added another worker, Noel Maluleke. “We come to work every day using public transport, and some of us pay as much as R800 a month. When it rains, we don’t work, and sometimes our employer tells us not to come at all. So, we find ourselves having to pay the full monthly transport fee even though we did not go to work most days of the month,” he said.

Social grant loss highlights severity of crisis

Several workers voiced their concerns, but what caught Mohai’s attention was when one of the female workers told him that her social grant had been terminated because she took this job, which is now failing to pay her.

“I used to earn a government grant, but that stopped as soon as I started earning a wage here,” said Constance Makhubele. “Some of us last received wages in September, yet I have kids to feed,” she added, urging the deputy minister to intervene.

Mohai promises investigation and urgent action

In response, Mohai acknowledged the seriousness of the issues that were raised, saying he would address the situation as soon as he got to his office.

“While we understand that this is how the system works, it is disappointing when those who are tasked with responsibilities to help people, fail to carry out their jobs,” he continued, promising to take immediate action.

He told them that his team would investigate the non-payment of SMMEs and workers in that project.

“We are concerned about the conduct where those in charge act in a manner that does not respect the people working on sites. We will deal with that.”