The National Education Health & Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] has it on good authority that currently there is no security personnel deployed to provide security in Home Affairs offices across the country.

This comes after the contract of the last security company lapsed and the company left all premises without any form of security.

This is highly unacceptable as this puts the safety of both workers and citizens at risk of being victims to criminal elements. This situation makes the offices of home affairs vulnerable and a target for those who may want to exploit this situation.

Considering the services rendered by home affairs and sensitive nature of the information they process on a daily basis, this situation should have never seen the light of the day. NEHAWU calls for those who are responsible to account and to be dealt with harshly for allowing this situation to occur.

As NEHAWU, we have written to the Director General, Mr Mkhuseli Apleni, to get answers as to how this situation came to be and what measures put in place to avert and solve this problem.

As the national union, we shall not stand idle while our members and workers in general work in an unsafe environment. For members to perform at their optimum best, their safety must be given priority. We demand that a speedily resolution of the matter be found. In this regard, the union will do everything possible and available at its disposal to pursue the resolution of this matter. Indeed, NEHAWU values the safety of all its members and workers in the workplace and the South African people.

This further reinforces our call for insourcing of all services into government. The 2014 Manifesto of the African National Congress [ANC] further states that “to reduce reliance on outsourcing, we will enhance the capacity of the state to directly provide goods and services.” If security was insourced such silly occurrences would not have taken place, as a transformative union we will continue to campaign for insourcing.

 

Issued by NEHAWU