Traffic officials take the legal route

Provincial traffic officials will follow the legal route and will not follow through on threats to strike tomorrow (Friday) as planned.

Solly Balula, South African Police Union (Sapu) provincial secretary, said their decision follows the alleged failure of the department of roads and transport to promote officials and to move officials up one salary level as was decided per resolution of the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) in 2009.

According to this resolution, employees on specific salary levels up to level 12 that are not covered by any specific occupational dispensation, whose work performance was satisfactory, would progress to a higher salary grade, even if there were no such posts available.

“There are several issues the officials want to take up with the PSCBC. They want the department’s head of department (HOD) and senior manager of the traffic section to be removed from their posts,” he said.

“After deliberations, the officials have decided to take the legal route. There was not enough time to warn the department and to get permission from the municipality to arrange the strike and other actions before Friday. We will continue organising of the strike and it will take place later this month.”

Sapu is a participating union in the PSCBC and represents the SAPS, the department of correctional services, Metro police departments and traffic departments when transverse and sector employee issues are negotiated.

According to Muthuphei Kutama, secretary of the PSCBC in Limpopo, when a department did not implement resolutions of the PSCBC, the employees must lodge a grievance with the labour relations section of the department or his supervisor. “If the attempt to resolve does not succeed, a dispute can be declared.”

HOD for roads and transport, Hanli du Plessis, said the doors of the HOD’s office as well as that of the new MEC, Mapula Mokaba-Phokwana, are open for people who want to talk about grievances.

“The previous MEC and HOD had discussions with the officials and, where possible and within given prescripts of the resolution, we are trying to accommodate the officials.

“We are in the process of putting new posts in place. A strike will not solve the problem. We ask them to follow the route of registering a grievance. We are doing everything to accommodate them, but within prescripts,” she said.