One local man taking formal action against his employer, the provincial Department of Social Development, was joined by workers from every district in the province on Monday as he picketed outside arbitration proceedings.
One local man taking formal action against his employer, the provincial Department of Social Development, was joined by workers from every district in the province on Monday as he picketed outside arbitration proceedings.
At the local Department offices Bamanye Maxham was also supported by members of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union in his attempt to make the Department uphold an alleged promise to upgrade the salaries of social auxiliary workers and assistant probation officers.
Maxham, a social auxiliary worker who took it upon himself to challenge the department, said the arbitration process stems from an unfulfilled promise made years ago by the provincial Department to increase 154 assistant probation officers' and 228 social workers' salaries.
Their salaries were not re-graded to a level five from a level four, as they say they had been told would happen, and now they are calling on the Department to follow through.
Challenging the Department's failure to up their salaries, Maxham first went through the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
The group picketing outside the local office yesterday had come from various districts in the province, including Buffalo City Metro, Nelson Mandela Metro, Amathole and Chris Hani District municipalities.
According to a memorandum from the workers, the social auxiliary workers were trained by the department in the form of a one-year programme starting in March 2009.
Their training was verified by and endorsed by the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority and they were received certificates in March 2011.
The Department had resolved to upgrade their salaries from a level four to five after completing this programme, the workers said.
The Department had also employed assistant probation officers at entry level in 2007 and promised to upgrade their salaries to level five when they completed the training programme, but this was not done.
During the picket yesterday assistant probation officer Ntsikelelo Monti told Grocott's Mail that adding insult to injury, recently-employed auxiliary community development practitioners who possess the same qualifications as the picketing workers have been given increases before them.
"Another problem is the fact that social auxiliary workers and probation officers in Gauteng and in the Western Cape are at level five, but other provinces are still on level four," Monti said.
