Thousands of Eastern Cape construction workers and their families are facing a bleak Easter as many of them will be retrenched with no pay at the end of this month, if the provincial government continues to default on paying their bosses.
This is according to the Eastern Cape Black Contractors Association (ECBCA), whose more than 100 member companies, employing on average 300 people per company, are said to be owed in excess of R400-million by the provincial government.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, the association revealed that, while exact figures are not available, its members have retrenched scores of people since December and that many of their companies “are dying a slow death” as a result of ongoing non-payment for services already rendered.
ECBCA’s chairman Sakhele Skenjana yesterday said the construction sector was the biggest employer in the province, and that it was of “deep concern” that they will have to lay off thousands of workers who are mostly breadwinners in their families.
Skenjana said the provincial government’s failure to pay them timeously was crippling their businesses and that most of them are being forced to close shop as they struggle to pay staff salaries.
Skenjana said some of the projects they are involved in have since been abandoned, while some of their members’ plant machinery has been held hostage by disgruntled workers demanding their dues.
He said the non-payment of contractors was only experienced in the Eastern Cape, and it was “done deliberately by provincial authorities who are hellbent on frustrating provincial black businesses”.
“This is very painful to both us as employers and the thousands of workers in our employ. Many of our employees are in agony as they are now being retrenched while they have done nothing wrong.
“We have been paying them from our reserves, which have now run dry, placing us in debt and in risk of closing down,” he said.
He said in order to keep afloat, some of the businesses will have to cut their staff complement by 50% at the end of this month, while other business owners have already resorted to selling their assets in a bid to keep things going.
He said one of the biggest non-payment culprits was the education department, and they were now planning to bus their employees to the department’s headquarters in Zwelitsha to hold a protest action that will “close the place down until we are paid what is due to us”.
His concerns come amid recent reports that the provincial government was sitting with over 7200 unpaid invoices that were older than the stipulated 30-day payment period, and which amount to R466-million.
ECBCA’s executive committee member Siyabulela Moko, who revealed that his wage bill stood at R1.4-million every month, said the non-payment affected their bank ratings, tax compliance and relations with suppliers.
“In some sites, due to our failure to pay salaries, some of our equipment has been torched by angry workers, and we now have to take expensive insurance policies just to cover our equipment,” Moko said.
The association’s secretary, Weziwe Zondani, said they are just sent from pillar to post whenever they tried to engage with provincial authorities over the delayed payments.
She said last November they handed over a memorandum to premier Phumulo Masualle, and now they have also written to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Accepting their memorandum of demands last November, Masualle acknowledged that their non-payment grievance “was a cause for concern” and promised to set up a task team to look into the matter.
However, Skenjana yesterday said that if such a task team even exists, it has neither contacted them nor assisted them.
Attempts to reach Masualle were fruitless by deadline yesterday.
Sector in crisis over Bhisho non-payment
This is according to the Eastern Cape Black Contractors Association (ECBCA), whose more than 100 member companies, employing on average 300 people per company, are said to be owed in excess of R400-million by the provincial government.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, the association revealed that, while exact figures are not available, its members have retrenched scores of people since December and that many of their companies “are dying a slow death” as a result of ongoing non-payment for services already rendered.
ECBCA’s chairman Sakhele Skenjana yesterday said the construction sector was the biggest employer in the province, and that it was of “deep concern” that they will have to lay off thousands of workers who are mostly breadwinners in their families.
Skenjana said the provincial government’s failure to pay them timeously was crippling their businesses and that most of them are being forced to close shop as they struggle to pay staff salaries.
Skenjana said some of the projects they are involved in have since been abandoned, while some of their members’ plant machinery has been held hostage by disgruntled workers demanding their dues.
He said the non-payment of contractors was only experienced in the Eastern Cape, and it was “done deliberately by provincial authorities who are hellbent on frustrating provincial black businesses”.
“This is very painful to both us as employers and the thousands of workers in our employ. Many of our employees are in agony as they are now being retrenched while they have done nothing wrong.
“We have been paying them from our reserves, which have now run dry, placing us in debt and in risk of closing down,” he said.
He said in order to keep afloat, some of the businesses will have to cut their staff complement by 50% at the end of this month, while other business owners have already resorted to selling their assets in a bid to keep things going.
He said one of the biggest non-payment culprits was the education department, and they were now planning to bus their employees to the department’s headquarters in Zwelitsha to hold a protest action that will “close the place down until we are paid what is due to us”.
His concerns come amid recent reports that the provincial government was sitting with over 7200 unpaid invoices that were older than the stipulated 30-day payment period, and which amount to R466-million.
ECBCA’s executive committee member Siyabulela Moko, who revealed that his wage bill stood at R1.4-million every month, said the non-payment affected their bank ratings, tax compliance and relations with suppliers.
“In some sites, due to our failure to pay salaries, some of our equipment has been torched by angry workers, and we now have to take expensive insurance policies just to cover our equipment,” Moko said.
The association’s secretary, Weziwe Zondani, said they are just sent from pillar to post whenever they tried to engage with provincial authorities over the delayed payments.
She said last November they handed over a memorandum to premier Phumulo Masualle, and now they have also written to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Accepting their memorandum of demands last November, Masualle acknowledged that their non-payment grievance “was a cause for concern” and promised to set up a task team to look into the matter.
However, Skenjana yesterday said that if such a task team even exists, it has neither contacted them nor assisted them.
Attempts to reach Masualle were fruitless by deadline yesterday.
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