Officials of the Nelson Mandela Bay transport department have raised concerns after some long-serving employees were apparently sidelined at an awards ceremony in the Eastern Cape.
They said long-serving officials were overlooked while newer staff members were awarded for their services at a ceremony on Tuesday.
A day before the ceremony, they wrote a letter to transport and community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha.
It is understood that Nqatha shared the letter with head of department Andile Fani because the grievances raised by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) branch leadership in the Sarah Baartman district were seen as “an operational matter”.
The Nehawu Sarah Baartman district includes the main office in Gqeberha and satellite offices in Humansdorp, Graaff-Reinet, Makhanda, Aberdeen, Port Alfred and Cookhouse.
Eastern Cape transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose confirmed that Fani had received correspondence from Nehawu.
“The letters were brought to the attention of the relevant internal structures,” Binqose said.
We are divided now. There are employees who were supposed to get their certificates to display with pride in their offices and homes — but were not awarded.
— An official
“The department will engage Nehawu formally at an opportune time.”
An official said this week that 20 of his colleagues in Gqeberha alone were not honoured, in addition to others at satellite offices.
“We are divided now. There are employees who were supposed to get their certificates to display with pride in their offices and homes — but were not awarded.”
But the official said those who were not invited but had served for more than 20 years could still get their bonuses, which came with certificates.
Another official said there were senior officials invited from five other transport department districts in the Eastern Cape and raised concerns about how their accommodation was paid.
In a letter dated December 1 to Nqatha, unionists said they had received numerous complaints about the conduct of acting district manager John O’Reilly, and the alleged exclusion of some employees.
“The union wrote several letters to his office regarding this, [pleading] that [these] officials be included and awarded.
“As his normal [alleged] proclivity, he did not respond or even acknowledge our correspondence as an urgent matter to indulge the union or its members to clarify the issues,” the letter says.
Disgruntled officials and unionists had also addressed their grievances with O’Reilly, but he allegedly disregarded them, it says.
“The head of department [Fani] is very much aware of this ... but no action has been taken since the submission of the letter of complaint to the office of the head of department.”
In part, Nqatha was requested to direct the district management to halt the “discriminatory awards with immediate effect”.
A similar letter dated November 28, also addressed to O’Reilly, requested that officials with more than 10 years’ service be included in the awards.
“We commend the district for initiating such a wonderful gesture for its employees. It means the district cares for its employees.
“However, it has come to our attention that not all employees that qualified for an award have been invited.
“We do not know the reason, but it cannot be that there will be segregation within the employees that have reached the years for this recognition and were not invited,” the letter says.
In it, the union states that the exclusion of employees would leave them disgruntled and demands that those with 10, 15 and 20 years of service be part of the celebrations.
However, a day before the celebration, workers confronted O’Reilly and there was a near physical altercation in his office in Govan Mbeki Avenue.
O’Reilly and another manager reportedly filmed the confrontation, which angered unionists, who asked for written reasons as to why they should not report a criminal case against him for filming them without their consent, which they said was in violation of the Protection of Personal Information Act.
Approached for comment, O’Reilly referred questions to Binqose.
Binqose said the department had noted Nehawu’s concerns about tensions during the preparations for the awards.
“The department emphasises the importance of maintaining a cohesive working environment.
“The department encourages all parties to use established labour relations platforms to raise and resolve issues constructively,” he said.
He said the awards ceremony was in line with department of public service and administration provisions for long service recognition in the public service.
“We are currently verifying the costs associated with the event,” he said.
This verification, Binqose said, was part of the internal review currently under way.
The Herald
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