MEMORANDUM OF DEMANDS TO THE NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION.

Friday February 10, 2017

Introduction

Since 2013, the union has tried to engage and negotiate with the department of Social Development on a plethora of issues, including workingconditions of our members. The department of Social Development has shown no interest to address the issues and as a result our members in theSocial Development Sector resolved to exercise their constitutional right by taking matters to the street in order to highlight their frustrations. Indeed,this action serves as a proof to the public that the Minister of Social Development, Ms. Bathabile Dlamini has dismally failed to address workers’ issuessince assuming office. The only time we heard the Minister talking about workers, was at the time when she attacked the poor Social Workers. SocialService Professionals have forged a united front in saying; ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and NO MORE shall such a situation be tolerated. The appallingworking conditions for employees in the department must be addressed, as in yesterday.

The issues of working conditions are historical and the promulgation of the White Paper for Social Welfare, 1997 gave hope to many professionals thatthings will improve for better but that is still a pipe dream. The union has noted with serious concern the trend by the department of rewriting policies and strategies instead of implementing them. Amongst other progressive strategies, was the introduction of the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for Social Workers around 2005/6. Regrettably, the department dismally failed to implement the strategy again.

In 2007, Parties in the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) entered into an agreement to introduce the Occupational SpecificDispensation (OSD), which seek to revise salary structures of different professional and occupational categories. Amongst other things, underpinning theprinciples of OSD was to assist the public service to attract and retain skilled employees by aligning their salaries to the market in order to ensurefair, equitable and competitive remuneration structures for all categories of employees. The research conducted shows that OSD for Social Service Professionals and Occupations fell short in addressing these principles. In its current form and content, this dispensation leaves these cadres inthe service to retire or die poor hence our demand for the review is as follows:

On Social Work category:

(a) Entry Salary level from 7 to 10

(b) Social Work Supervisors entry level 9 to 11

(c) Bring back Assistant Social Work Managers at entry level 12 (d) Social Work Manager entry level 12 to 13

On Child and Youth Care Workers (CYCWs) category: (a) CYCW entry level from 4 to 7

(b) CYCW Team Leader entry level from 5 to 8 (c) CYCW Supervisor entry level from 6 to 9

Community Development Practitioners category:

(a) Community Development Practitioners from 6/7 entry level 9

(a) Social Auxiliary Workers entry level from 4 to 7

(b) Assistant Community Development Practitioners entry level from 4/5 to 7

On Delinking of Accelerated Grade Progression from PMDS system

The current PMDS is incompatible with the job functions of these cadres and we demand that:

(a) Qualification for Accelerated Grade Progression to be delinked from performance assessment, pending the introduction of a compatible andeffective system.

(b) Qualification for Accelerated Grade Progression be reduced from 5 years to 3 years

(c) Qualification for grade progression to be reduced from 10 to 5 years, 20 to 15, 30 to 20 years respectively.

On other conditions of service

Not forgetting other historical issues, we demand;

(a) Retrospective Regrading of Social Auxiliary Workers to salary level 5, with effect from 01 April

2007.

(b) Implementation of Accelerated grade progression. (c) Introduction of rural allowance

(d) Extension of danger allowance to other categories of employees

(e) Provision of working tools

(f) Improved and conducive working conditions

ABSORBTION OF SOCIAL WORK GRADUATES ON SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

We have noted with great concern the recent media statement issued by the national Department of Social Development and their intention tosuspend the scholarship program as a way to address what is purported as an “over supply of Social Workers”, trying to hide their failures to manage.This can only be regarded as a decision of a leader who does not have a vision and does not understand issues in the Department of SocialDevelopment, as far as workers’ conditions of service are concerned. The problem lies also with provincial departments of Social Development who deliberately refuse to absorb these cadres.

Since January 2017, the department of Social Development has registered a staggering 48% vacancy rate for Social Work posts while there are young graduates sitting at home. The failure of the scholarship program and absorption of the graduate Social Workers is as a result ofnothing but a failure by the department to manage and get its priorities right. Looting of state coffers constitute an integral part of the problem inthe department. The union has observed the use of sophisticated methods by senior officials as a trend or a pattern to steal monies allocated for critical projects. Indeed, the suspension of this scholarship program, amongst other things, is depriving young and aspiring Social Workerstheir fulfilment of their dreams to become professionals. The department’s failure to absorb graduate Social Workers does not only rob young peopletheir future but also deprive our communities quality service they deserve hence potentially the country will fail to achieve its vision 2030.

With the reality as sketched above, the union therefore demand the absorption of all Social Work graduates and fill all vacant posts not later than the 01 April 2017.

INSOURCE ALL SECURE CARE CENTRES (YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CENTRES) OUTSOURCED TO BOSASA

As the union organising workers employed in the Bosasa Youth Development Centres, we have identified the following:

(a) That these centres and/or services were outsourced to Bosasa by the department of social development;

(b) Employees still earn poverty wages way below what their counterparts in the Department of Social Development are earning. For example, a Child and Youth Care Worker in the department of Social Development earn double his/her counterpart in Bosasa. These are huge tenders worth millions to the benefit of the elite few, at the expense of the majority of poor workers, majority being black.

(c) Lack of benefits and allowances such as housing allowance and danger allowance; (d) Night shift is paid at the lowest rate

(e) Lack of job security as Bosasa still believes and practices the “hire and fire policy”

The table below indicates where these centres are based;

At this point, we want to bring to the attention of the Minister of Social Development that in 2005, the Eastern Cape provincial department of SocialDevelopment took over the two centres (Sikhuselekile and John X Meriman) which were outsourced to Bosasa, as a result, the conditions of service ofthe employees who were transferred to the department are equal to all employees in the department. This was achieved with the same budgets and/orallocations which were used to fund these centres while under Bosasa. Further to that, the transfer process was a less tedious one and wascompleted in less than two months. Workers are happy and the morale is high. Therefore, we do not see reasons why these centres must remain inthe hands of Bosasa, which is a private company interested in profit making at the expense of poor workers and service. Further to that provision of Secure Care services for children in conflict with the law is a constitutional obligation and a public service, whichshould fall under the Department of Social Development.

We therefore demand:

- The insourcing of all Secure Care Centres (also known as Youth Development Centres) outsourced to Bosasa.

- For an audit to be conducted, as a matter of urgency in order to verify the lifespan of the existing contracts.

- Those ending in the 2016/17 financial year must not be renewed or outsourced to another company.

PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT OF ALL CONTRACT EMPLOYEES BASED IN THE GENDER BASED VIOLENCE COMMAND CENTRE

For some reasons only known by the department and subsequently to the establishment of the Gender Based Violence Command Centre, thedepartment introduced the exploitative method of contract employment instead of permanently employing these workers. Further to that, this commandcentre operates like a private company with autocratic style of management.

- Permanent employment of all contract employees at the Gender Based Violence Centre with effect from 01 April 2017.

- Transformation of the centre and put an end to autocratic style of management.

REINFENCING A PORTION OF GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY PAID TO NGO’s TO COVER COSTS FOR CONDITIONS OF SERVICE FOREMPLOYEES

NEHAWU is the largest union organising more than 13 000 members in the NGO sector. The plight of workers in this sector is in dire need for acollective effort of all relevant stakeholders, including the Department of Social Development to find ways to push back the frontiers of apartheid system which is still a reality in this sector and improve the conditions of service of employees. It is in this sector where we still experience workerswho are rendering essential and critical service 24 hours, yet still earning less than R1500 without benefits (i.e. provident fund).

The sad situation inthe private welfare sector as far as demographics are concerned is that 90% of the employees are blacks, while the beneficiaries are white people. The benefits further goes to the children of the white capital monopoly, who can afford to take their parents and grandparents to Old Age Homes facilities and continue with a comfortable life, while a black parent (employee) earns poverty wages, little to afford to pay school fees or live adescent life with his/her family. Further to that 80% of these vulnerable workers are women. Women remain marginalised in the private welfare sector.

The absence of a centralised bargaining process in the private welfare organisations does not help the situation. Employers in this sector always crypoverty. This sector is highly regulated to the detriment of poor workers. In an attempt to find long term solutions to these challenges, the union hasapplied to the Minister of Labour to establish a commission to investigate the conditions of services of employees in this sector with theendeavour to introduce a sectoral determination.

We hold a strong view that short term interventions must be deployed to prevent the situation from worsening.

In this regard, we therefore demand that:

- The department of Social Development must introduce a mechanism where NGOs relying on government subsidy will ring-fence the funding to largely fund conditions of service for employees. This mechanism must be a prerequisite for continuous funding.

WHEN DO WE EXPECT THE RESPONSE

The union demand that all the above stated demands must be responded within a period of 5 days from the receipt of this memorandum since theseissues are directly affecting members and impacting negatively to service delivery. Indeed, the union regards this march as a warning shot to the department as such any delay or refusal to respond to these demands shall leave us with no choice but to go for a full blown strike.

Signed on behalf of the Minister of Social Development

Signed on behalf of National Education Health and Allied Workers Union

BUILD STRONG WORKPLACE ORGANISATION, CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS AND INTERNATIONALISM

Issued by NEHAWU 10 February 2017