Irate police reservists return to Union Building to picket

Central SA

─── LUCKY NKUYANE 15:02 Thu, 24 Feb 2022

A group of disgruntled police reservists from the North West on Thursday joined other reservists at the Union Building in Pretoria to picket for permanent employment.

This is the second picketing at the Union Buildings in the space of a few weeks*.

Reservists from across the country, including Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and the Western Cape are picketing for permanent employment.

The irate reservists want the police to employ them permanently without any conditions attached.

Previously the reservists handed over a memorandum to officials in the Office of the Presidency, however, the presidency directed their requests to the office of the police minister Bheki Cele.

The SAPS are yet to comment on OFM News' inquiry.

A source, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, previously told OFM News that some of the reservists have more than 15 years of experience at the job and for years have been working without stipends and any assurance of employment. The source said others have not been paid since 2002 by the police and have no medical insurance in case of need.

"These people have been [reservists] since they were 28 and some are now at the age of 50-60 years of age, and they have not been employed by the SAPS," the source added.

The source explained to OFM News that it’s shocking that the SAPS has, to date, failed to absorb and employ them permanently. This despite an apparent letter from the police medical aid, congratulating officers for qualifying to join the medical aid.

The message read: “Dear Constable, congratulations on your appointment with the SAPS. As a SAPS member, you qualify to join Polmed, a world-class medical aid, for you and your family, at a subsidised rate. With the current pandemic, there is no better time to join”.

Meanwhile, OFM News reported that the EFF joined the 600 irate North West police reservists, as the voice behind their struggle to be employed permanently by the police.

The EFF’s Member of the National Assembly (MP), Kenny Motsamai, said that the party has joined the battle to offer support to the reservists.

The North West police also admitted that police reservists who have been rendering services for years have been doing so without stipends or permanent employment.

Police spokesperson, Adele Myburgh, told OFM News that the reservists are rendering a voluntary service, without payment or benefits, according to the National Instruction 3 of 2014.

OFM News