NEHAWU member’ strike is momentarily called off
The leadership of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) said it has made serious strides in resolving issues affecting workers of the Office of the Premier and interns of the Mpumalanga Provincial Government.
MBOMBELA – Workers and interns have been picketing during lunch hours since March 4.
Nehawu regional secretary, Sdumo Masilela, said on Wednesday they met with the director general of the Office of the Premier, Mathews Mohlasedi, to find a solution.
He said they had reached an agreement to call off the strike, for now.
“On the issue of the non-payment of interns, which has been a long outstanding issue, we reached an agreement that they must be paid before April 12,” said Masilela.
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He said most of these interns have not been paid for more than 10 months.
He said most of their contracts are coming to an end at the end of May while others had theirs terminated in December.
Regarding the overburden of employees, the employer has agreed that it will employ 35 new employees in the upcoming financial year that starts in April to fill the vacancies,” added Masilela.
The union had also demanded the Richard Nkosi redeployment of Solly Dlamini and Lindiwe Mabaso elsewhere.
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The duo has been acting as chief directors since 2017. Nehawu members accused them of victimising those in their respective sections.
Their alleged actions, according to Nehawu, have hugely impacted on the morale of their members, which resulted in various members being transferred to other units within the Office of the Premier.
Masilela said at the moment there is no agreement reached of where the two will be deployed.
Zibonele Mncwango, spokesman for the Office of the Premier, promised to respond to media enquiries. However, at the time of going to press, he had not.M
