Cape Town - ANC staff members have asked the opposition DA politicians who on Tuesday lodged a formal complaint with the police against the ruling party’s leadership’s alleged failure to pay its staff UIF contributions to the state, to stay out of their business.
Following the fourth picket in four months by ANC staff members, to protest what they referred to as “the unfair labour practice by the ANC as the employer”, DA national employment and labour spokesperson Micahel Cardo said the party had intervened, as the workers run the risk of forgoing their rightful benefits.
Speaking outside the Cape Town Central police station, Cardo said that if it was true that the ANC has been deducting UIF contributions from workers but not paying them over to the government, it was a criminal office.
“Ten days ago we wrote to the Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi and asked him to clarify whether the allegations were true. As the responsible minister he has a duty to account and to announce what action he intends taking against the ANC if it has violated the law.
“We have not received a response from the minister other than an acknowledgement of receipt from his office,” said Cardo.
Responding to the DA’s intervention, ANC staff representative committee member Mandla Qwane accused the opposition party of being opportunistic.
He said the ANC staff were not merely employees of the party but members and committed cadres of the party who could not be represented by the DA.
“They are in no position to speak on our behalf. They were not invited. These are internal issues of the ANC and we are handling them ourselves. We don’t want anyone interfering.
“If anyone is going to open any case relating to our issues it will be us as members of staff and there is no reason for us to take that route. We are currently in engagement with our leadership and our issues are being resolved as we speak,” said Qwane.
In a statement issued on Monday, the ANC staffers said: “The past three years have been marked by irregular salary payments, the failure to pay the workers provident fund, the unilateral cancellation of medical aid and failure to make UIF contributions.
“These glaring failures by the ANC to secure its staff members cannot be tolerated or treated as normal behaviour.”