Census 2022: Frustrated field workers still waiting for training and contracts

Trained field workers for Census 2022 are sitting at home in frustration as they have not yet signed their employment contracts, while others were still being recruited on D-day.

While Statistics SA has been urging citizens to register for Census 2022, which was extended to Saturday, several field workers have expressed frustration as they have no idea what is expected of them. They have still received no feedback nor the relevant training.

The employment process of the successful candidates involved them receiving tablets from Stats SA, undergoing a 10-day training course and passing two assessment tests before signing their contracts. But despite the project starting on Wednesday, many were still waiting for their assessment results, while others were still undergoing training.

According to a text circulated to field workers in Tshwane, the capital city was falling behind due to only 6,733 people having written their second assessment. A remaining 6,426 workers were still waiting to write their test and, so far, nearly 6,300 people were available for appointments.

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Census 2022 workers frustrated

The field workers were expected to start their duties on 2 February but they have instead been waiting at home for a call to sign their employment contracts. Some of those who received their devices this week were told to cram the 10-day training process into two days.

Speaking anonymously to The Citizen due to fears of victimisation, many in Tshwane were still confused about their duties and when to start working.

A field worker expected to cover parts of Centurion only received his tablet on Monday afternoon after being turned away on Thursday last week due to protests in Salvokop, where the Stats SA headquarters is situated.

“I was told to go back home on Thursday. At 9pm on Sunday night I received a text saying I should come on Monday morning at 8am. I queued until noon to receive my tablet and we signed a trainee contract. While queuing, a lady came to return her tablet, stating she wants to resign.”

“But I can’t start today [Wednesday] because I am still new and under training. I can’t do the 10-day training in two days and expect to do well,” he said.

Another Tshwane resident was supposed to start her training on 18 January but this only commenced a week later as many trainees had issues with their tablets. Trainees complained of malfunctioning tablets or failing to connect to the Census 2022 software programme to complete their training.

Even though she was desperate for the income, she said she was considering returning the device as there seemed to be no answers from Stats SA.

“I was told to wait for an SMS to come and sign my employment contract but by 4:30pm, I still haven’t received it. I don’t think I am going to sign the contract. I think I am going to return this device of theirs. As much as I would have loved to work there, the terms are that we can’t have another job while working there. With this delay, it means opportunities of employment are going to go by for two months now since we started training in January.”

This stretched to other provinces as well, with a Limpopo field worker saying she was also waiting for her assessment results.

“We were told the system has a glitch and that it is being updated, which is why our results have not yet been released. I am not sure what is going on. I know some people have started in Polokwane but I haven’t heard anything about what I should do,” she said.

‘Mammoth’ task ahead

According to Stats SA, there was no delay but a staggered approach of employing 165,000 staff for the “mammoth” project.

Statistician-general Risenga Maluleke said they were confident of their readiness this week.

“Especially that the night of census that is dedicated to specific societal groups, that is, homeless, transients, special dwellings and institutions, with the remainder of the first week dedicated for computer assisted web interviewing (CAWI) enumeration.”

“The workforce required for the first week have been prioritised and are sufficient for the week with the rest of the staff being brought on board in a staggered manner. We have to complete all security checks and vetting before we bring them on board.”

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While registration for residents has been extended to Saturday, Maluleke said the Census 2022 project, which is expected to finish on 28 February, was not expected to go beyond the set deadline.

“At this stage there is no plan to extend the project. It is also envisaged that the workload of the field staff may be significantly reduced by the use of other modes of collection by the public. In conclusion, our staggered approach of bringing field workers on board is the best approach in managing a multi-modal data collection process,” said Maluleke.

– rorisangk@citizen.co.za