MUST READ: Municipality halts internships

"We even went as far as to sign contracts, so the positions are technically ours."

November 24, 2017

Quinton Boucher 2 minutes read

A feeling of disatisfaction towards Newcastle Municipality has surfaced, following the promise of internships within the municipality.

The internships were advertised in October and November of 2016, which saw an influx of applicants applying for the positions.

However, after the successful applicants were notified they had secured the positions, everything came to a grinding halt.

“We were told that we were successful in July, and in August we went for induction. After that, nothing happened and no one was answering our questions,” vented one of the applicants, who requested to remain anonymous.

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With employment seeming uncertain, the applicant said he and several others felt they deserved answers. “We even went as far as to sign contracts, so the positions are technically ours,” he claimed. However, it seemed the process of employing the interns was hampered by numerous obstacles within the municipality.

“The first time the internships were advertised for the broader public, we saw over 1 700 applicants apply and that contributed to the initial delay,” claimed a statement from the municipality’s Communications Department.

This was due to the process of recruitment, which was said to be a rigorous exercise to ensure the process was fair to all the applicants, and all applicants were from Newcastle. The Communications Department confirmed the process of appointing the new interns was then halted.

“It was halted to allow council to satisfy itself that all due processed as per the Internship Policy of Council had been followed, before appointing the new interns.”

While confirming successful applicants had gone for their induction in August, the Communications Department explained the Human Resources Department had been notified that a decision was taken to halt the commencement of employing the new interns.

The Communications Department claimed the Human Resources Department contacted the candidates and assured them they would be advised, once the matter was resolved.

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“It is worth noting, no details were provided for this decision, hence we were unable to provide concrete responses to the questions raised by the interns.”

As the interns wait anxiously, the Communications Department assured the delay was not intentional. “The Newcastle Municipality wishes to extend its sincere apologies to all those affected by the delay. Everything humanly possible is being done to resolve the matter. We look forward to welcoming you as part of our family in our core mandate, to deliver quality services to our people,” the Communications Department concluded.