While Buffalo City Metro’s law enforcement unit protested over low pay yesterday, councillors granted themselves comfortable annual increases.
The disgruntled law enforcement officers, demanding to know why their increases had been delayed, held a sit-in outside the office of public health and safety acting director Steve Terwin.
All 32 officers took part in the protest, even though their job descriptions state they form part of “essential services”, said city spokesman Keith Ngesi.
Nearby, city councillors held the “first special meeting” of council in 2016 to decide one item on the agenda – to pay themselves annual increases of between 5% and 6%. The increases were backdated seven months to July 1.
Ngesi confirmed that the councillors had approved the item. This means they will receive annual increases of between R24966 and R52310.
Chairman of the municipal public accounts committee (MPAC), Sakhumzi Caga, will get R45771 more and mayor Alfred Mtsi’s earnings will increase by R64770.
Part-time councillors will receive backpay this month of R14563, councillors on the mayoral executive R28609, speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele and deputy mayor Xola Pakati R30513 each, MPAC’s Caga R28609 and the mayor R37779.
While the council was meeting at the City Hall, municipal officers were not budging from a stuffy room next to Terwin’s office.
They refused to talk to the Dispatch or allow photographs.
Ngesi said the delay in producing the pay schedules was made harder by trying to find the right balance in “aligning” (grading) employees' length of service, some of 20 years or more, with the fact that they did not have a matric certificate, now a minimum requirement, said Ngesi.
Officers who did not want to be named messaged a Dispatch journalist during the meeting saying there was also a call for Terwin to go.
Terwin, now 60, took it in his stride, saying he had 39 years of experience in local and provincial government and he understood the issues.
“It’s par for the course,” he said before disappearing into his office.
Ngesi said a “progression report” detailing increases which weighed up both experience and qualifications had been drawn up by human resources officials in December.
The report, which also decided on job ranking and pay scales, was with acting municipal manager Nceba Ncunyana, who needed to be satisfied with its “motivations”.
Ngesi said implementation of the report’s findings was expected in mid-February.
Councillor Helen Neale-May, chairwoman of the health and public safety portfolio committee, said traffic officials were keeping municipal order on the streets.
“We do care about these officers and are making every effort to address their labour issues.”
She claimed there was “no dispute” since it had not been formally declared and said BCM did not expect disruptions to the Ironman 70.3 triathlon or Chippa United vs Ajax soccer match on the weekend. — mikel@dispatch.co.za
BCM cops fume over pay rises
The disgruntled law enforcement officers, demanding to know why their increases had been delayed, held a sit-in outside the office of public health and safety acting director Steve Terwin.
All 32 officers took part in the protest, even though their job descriptions state they form part of “essential services”, said city spokesman Keith Ngesi.
Nearby, city councillors held the “first special meeting” of council in 2016 to decide one item on the agenda – to pay themselves annual increases of between 5% and 6%. The increases were backdated seven months to July 1.
Ngesi confirmed that the councillors had approved the item. This means they will receive annual increases of between R24966 and R52310.
Chairman of the municipal public accounts committee (MPAC), Sakhumzi Caga, will get R45771 more and mayor Alfred Mtsi’s earnings will increase by R64770.
Part-time councillors will receive backpay this month of R14563, councillors on the mayoral executive R28609, speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele and deputy mayor Xola Pakati R30513 each, MPAC’s Caga R28609 and the mayor R37779.
While the council was meeting at the City Hall, municipal officers were not budging from a stuffy room next to Terwin’s office.
They refused to talk to the Dispatch or allow photographs.
Ngesi said the delay in producing the pay schedules was made harder by trying to find the right balance in “aligning” (grading) employees' length of service, some of 20 years or more, with the fact that they did not have a matric certificate, now a minimum requirement, said Ngesi.
Officers who did not want to be named messaged a Dispatch journalist during the meeting saying there was also a call for Terwin to go.
Terwin, now 60, took it in his stride, saying he had 39 years of experience in local and provincial government and he understood the issues.
“It’s par for the course,” he said before disappearing into his office.
Ngesi said a “progression report” detailing increases which weighed up both experience and qualifications had been drawn up by human resources officials in December.
The report, which also decided on job ranking and pay scales, was with acting municipal manager Nceba Ncunyana, who needed to be satisfied with its “motivations”.
Ngesi said implementation of the report’s findings was expected in mid-February.
Councillor Helen Neale-May, chairwoman of the health and public safety portfolio committee, said traffic officials were keeping municipal order on the streets.
“We do care about these officers and are making every effort to address their labour issues.”
She claimed there was “no dispute” since it had not been formally declared and said BCM did not expect disruptions to the Ironman 70.3 triathlon or Chippa United vs Ajax soccer match on the weekend. — mikel@dispatch.co.za
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