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ANC staff to take legal action against party over outstanding salaries
ANC workers say they will head to the labour court or CCMA, and have lawyers willing to represent them for free.
General views of the African National Congress (ANC) headquarters Luthuli House in Johannesburg, 9 December 2020. Picture: Michel Bega
Disgruntled employees of the African National Congress (ANC) have decided to go the legal route in an attempt to get several months of unpaid salaries out of the governing party.
The ANC has been experiencing cash flow problems for some time, with workers complaining that they have not been receiving salaries on time since at least July 2021.
Outstanding salaries
It was unclear whether the ANC would pay its employees ahead of Christmas after the party missed its own 15 December deadline.
News24 has since reported that the workers have been paid for October, but salaries for November and December are still outstanding.
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ANC staff committee chair, Mvusi Mdala confirmed the one-month salary payment, but the party’s spokesperson Pule Mabe has seemingly suggested otherwise.
Pule told TimesLive that the staff members were paid two of three outstanding monthly salaries.
“ANC staff have been paid for the outstanding months of October and November. We are expecting that the December salary will be paid by Wednesday,” Mabe said.
Legal action
Mdala, meanwhile, indicated that the staff members will take the ANC to the Labour Court or the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) over outstanding salaries next year.
“We will do anything possible to make sure that we get paid. We might also continue pickets, but we need something quicker, that will get us results.
“We are looking at the CCMA and the Labour Court. We have lawyers that may be sympathetic to us, who may take this for free,” he informed News24.
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The workers previously threatened to take legal action against the ANC, accusing the party’s leadership of allegedly making Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and medical aid deductions from their salaries, but not paying them over to the relevant entities.
The Citizen previously reported that the ANC owes R17 million to the South African Revenue Service (Sars) for unpaid taxes and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax.
The ANC has been blaming the new Political Party Funding Act for the party’s financial struggles.
However, ANC treasurer-general, Paul Mashatile told the media in Ekurhuleni on Sunday that the governing party has asked government to increase the R100,000 threshold of the Act as one of the solutions to the party’s money problems.
