ANC says DA has no regard for our Constitution or the Rule of Law

The taxpayers of the Western Cape will have to fork out about R5 million extra for the political decision by Premier Helen Zille to fire 13 senior employees of the provincial Social Transformation Programme (STP), says the ANC.

Mr. Whitey Jacobs, Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, says this is yet another blunder by the Western Cape DA government in its quest to politically purge the administration from staff appointed by the ANC. It proves once more that the unpatriotic DA cannot be trusted and that it has no regard for our Constitution or the Rule of Law.

The Western Cape Provincial Government (PGWC) under premier Zille has last year admitted it paid R8 million to get rid of 16 officials. The 13 STP co-ordinators' contracts and posts were prematurely terminated 15 months early by a political decree issued by Zille. Their contracts were to end on 30 June 2011. They took Zille to the Labour Court, went on arbitration and won.

"In another blow to Zille and her administration, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has found no good reason for the dismissal of the 13 co-ordinators. It found Zille's dismissals were ‘both substantively and procedurally' unfair, not in line with the law and in breach of the right not to be unfairly dismissed.'

"Subsequently Zille's administration was ordered to pay compensation of R4,6 million, plus severance pay and the legal costs of the 13 unfairly dismissed employees before 17 January 2011. It was confirmed by the dismissed workers that no payment was made at that due date, and the PGWC is thus in breach of an order of the Labour Court. It just shows that the DA has no regard for workers' rights and that it does not care for ordinary people's hard earned tax-money.

"Once more Zille, her cabinet and the administration were exposed to severe criticism and it caused legal experts to be very critical of much of the employer's (PGWC) conduct, particularly the violation of their constitutional right to fair labour practices," says Jacobs.

In the arbitration award Adv. Coen de Kock, senior commissioner, wrote on the political decision taken by the Premier and her cabinet that "No substantive evidence whatsoever was led as to why it was necessary for this decision to be taken prior to the expiry of the applicants' (co-ordinators) fixed term contracts of employment. Political decisions need to be taken, keeping in mind the right of employees to fair labour practices and more specifically the right not to be unfairly dismissed."

De Kock also commented: "It could most certainly never have been the intention of the legislature to allow a situation where the contracts of employment of employees can be terminated (automatically as according to the respondent's argument) simply because there is a change in political leadership and because the new leadership no longer wants to honour the terms of contracts of employment entered into by the previous political leadership... It can most certainly not be left for a political party or leader to make a political decision at the expense of the concept of fair labour practice, which is a constitutional right accorded to all employees."

The ANC urges Zille to settle the outstanding amount as soon as possible and not to waste any more tax-payers money on this issue, like in the matter of her unconstitutional intervention in the Overberg District Municipality.

Statement issued by Mr. Whitey Jacobs, MPP, ANC Western Cape, January 20 2011

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