Strike to hit cop units
GRAEME
HOSKEN | 28 May, 2013 00:47
Police
Image by: PEGGY NKOMO
Image by: PEGGY NKOMO
Critical policing functions, including the
operations of emergency control centres and police stations, will grind to a
halt as about 50000 police administrative personnel go on strike.
The
strike, which begins across South Africa tomorrow, has been called by the
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union.
It could
result in emergency calls going unanswered and crime-fighting police being
removed from the streets to man telephones.
It could
also lead to police being unable to visit crime scenes or do crime prevention
as administrative staff dealing with fleet management would not be available to
ensure the running of vehicles.
Central
to the strike is police management's refusal to implement a 2011 Safety and
Security Sectoral Bargaining Council agreement.
It
centres on the incorporation of administrative staff, who are currently
"Public Service Act" employees, into the police, and salary
increases.
It would
see administrative staff, including clerks, falling within the pay bracket of
constables, and will require the SAPS to spend R900-million more a year on
salaries - money police management has told the union it does not have.
If the
agreement is signed, each administrative staff member will earn about R20 000
more annually.
"It
will make working impossible. Police stations and 10111 emergency centres will
battle to function.
"Police
will have to be taken off the streets to man the 10111 centres. If they do not,
we will not be able to respond to calls for help because we will not know about
them," said a Gauteng flying squad member.
A
Pretoria Central police station detective said the strike could be
catastrophic.
"How
will we know about crimes such as hijackings, murders and rapes?
"We
have asked our commanders what will happen, but they are also in the
dark."
Attempts
to get comment from police management on what contingency plans were in place
and whether last-minute emergency meetings were being held with Popcru were
fruitless.
Police
spokesman Brigadier Phuti Setati said: "SAPS management is continuously
engaging the leadership of the unions on the matter and all efforts are being
made to avert industrial action."
He
declined to answer questions on why police management had failed to honour the
agreement.
The
strike will begin in the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State,
Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo tomorrow. Gauteng will go on strike on
Thursday, while clerks in the North West will join next week.
Nkosinathi
Theledi, Popcru general secretary, said about 48000 administrative staff would
strike.
"Management
knew about it two years ago ... they had to budget, but they chose not to. They
chose to ignore a legally binding document."
