The Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA), which represented about 170 former book packers in challenging their abrupt dismissal in 2017, says they have been notified the Provincial Education Department has launched papers with the labour court to have the judgment reviewed. They do note, the matter has been delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.  

PSA provincial manager, Aubrey Nappie, says they are awaiting the latest from the labour court on the matter. OFM News interviewed Education MEC, Tate Makgoe, in September 2019, one month after the General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council (GPSSBC) ordered the department to rehire and compensate at least 170 of the former book packers with R136 000 each. Makgoe vehemently vowed to take the matter up “with the highest courts in the land”. 

The Education Department’s closure of ten of the department’s learning and stationary warehouses located throughout the province in 2017, is estimated to have left 600 book packers in limbo. While the warehouses were shrouded in allegations of corruption, the PSA maintained in arbitration proceedings that the Department created a “reasonable expectation” when they renewed employees’ contracts each year or every other year. The union stated the 2015 amendment to the Labour Relations Act regarding contract workers was in their favour, only limiting contract work to three months, without a justifiable reason. Makgoe, on the other end, argues the award defies logic, because the employees were temporary anyway, further asking if they employ those people, “what will they do”.  

The amended Labour Relations Act states “Employment in terms of a fixed term contract (newly concluded or renewed) for longer than 3 months will be deemed to become permanent employment – with some exceptions (see below). Note – an employer cannot circumvent this provision by using successive fixed-term contracts limited to 3 months each. It is not the current contract period, but the total period of employment, that must not exceed 3 months”.

The department’s learning and stationary warehouses used to be located in Welkom, Allanridge, Marquard, Petrus Steyn, Heilbron, Kroonstad, Qwaqwa, Harrismith, Koffiefontein and Mangaung. Education was renting nine of the properties from which the warehouses were run prior to them being shut down. They only owned the Mangaung warehouse.

OFM News