Pretoria - Trouble is brewing in the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC’s) procurement department, where a group of employees have made damning allegations of ill-treatment against management.
The employees, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed that two black employees were “forced” out of their office to make way for a white employee. They were then made to join colleagues in another office they say was confined and filled with boxes containing documents.
They supplied pictures of an office filled with boxes they say was the one they were forced to work in.
“Black people in procurement and asset management have long been squashed into one office which is full of tender documents in huge boxes. There is no space to move around. We have been forced by the procurement manager, Marius Steyn, and deputy manager, Vincent Qwabe, to remove boxes and clean our big office so the two members can join us. This means there will be eight of us in one office. Why are we being squashed? Is it because we are black? We struggle to breathe as is and those boxes are a health hazard,” they wrote.
Asked for comment, both Qwabe and Steyn referred all queries to the IEC official spokesperson.
IEC, chief communication officer Kate Bapela said the office was originally designed to accommodate eight workstations. The boxes were a temporary measure while the IEC increases its filing capacity to deal with an increased volume of files which she said had reached 16000.
“Proper filing is necessary as the procurement records are required, by law, to be kept safe for audit requirements. The reorganisation of office space is consequential to operational requirements.
"All staff in the procurement department were consulted on this necessary reorganisation. In the end, it was necessary for management to take decisions to facilitate proper record keeping.
"There is an established grievance procedure which could be invoked in instances where staff (are) unhappy about various elements of the work environment.”
Bapela did not respond to the question of whether black employees were “forced” to vacate their office to make way for a white
colleague.
When the employees were asked why they didn’t follow the IEC’s grievance channels before approaching Independent Media, a spokesperson for the employees said: “We had considered writing a formal grievance letter via the correct channels. But someone in the procurement department went and reported us to Marius Steyn and the whole plan fell away. As a result, we decided to let it go”
They also alleged that when they complained that there was not sufficient space in the procurement department to store the boxes, Qwabe sent them e-mails saying the workers had to remove them.
The employees further alleged that Steyn gave them a verbal warning after Qwabe’s last e-mail, dated December 6, when the boxes weren’t removed.
“The face of the IEC is black (commissioners and CEO), but it is run by white people like Marius Steyn who oppress black people and do as they please because they know there won't be consequences,” the employees said.
But the IEC disputes these assertions, saying Qwabe and Steyn held regular meetings with staff before sending e-mails so the employees could “deal with effective document management and their filing responsibilities".
“Following a discussion with all staff concerned, Steyn proposed various solutions to the unresolved matters. Decisions to ensure that the necessary action is taken do not constitute verbal warnings and none such were issued to any member of staff as alleged,” Bapela said.
Despite experiencing challenges, the IEC complies with the Employment Equity Act and submits annual reports to Parliament in this regard, she said. “As required, the commission adopted a five-year Employment Equity Plan with specific targets and goals,” Bapela explained, adding that black Africans make up 25 of the 45 managers across its national and provincial offices.