Durban - Transnet has warned against a “hoax” which preys on desperate jobseekers, offering them employment at the parastatal in return for payment.
The hoax messages, which have been circulated on social media, claim there are more than 1 000 jobs available at the Durban, Richards Bay, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth ports.
Candidates for the non-existent port worker jobs are told they would require a minimum of Grade 11 and that the package includes medical aid benefits and a salary of R11 000.
Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) chief executive, Karl Socikwa, said the parastatal would never require jobseekers to pay money when applying for employment.
“TPT categorically states that these adverts have not been issued by the company and advises the public to not respond to the adverts or pay any money if requested. Transnet does not require job applicants to pay money when applying for employment with the company,” he said.
The fake advert said there were positions available at all Transnet-operated ports and Socikwa said the reference numbers were not released by the company.
A Facebook page titled “Transnet Vacancies - Vacancies in Transnet”, attracted a number of queries on its wall about jobs and learnerships.
The page discloses that it is not moderated by Transnet, with a disclaimer that states: “Fan page set up to alert job seekers on different jobs listed by Transnet on their official careers page. This is not the official Transnet Facebook page.”
Some people on the page were suspicious and made posts on the wall seeking confirmation of the authenticity of vacancies.
One, Phelelani Xulu of Port Shepstone, posted: “Is there a pending post from Transnet called port worker?”
Another user, Nomkhosi Nzimande from Durban, was not convinced a vacancy was “legit”. “Guys is this post legit or what?”
They were referring to previous alerts about opportunities for 1 130 port workers that were supposedly wanted by the company, at a salary of R11 000, with just Grade 11 required.
An irate Fritz Hendrico of East London posted that he was still awaiting training to begin.
“What happened with my CV, because I applied for a position and when is training going start for 2015?”
Renier Shaw, a former artisan with Transnet, who was retrenched in 2012, posted his CV on the Facebook page.
When contacted by the Daily News last week, he said he had been offered a job but had to pay R5 000 upfront to secure an interview.
“They asked me to pay and I’m sitting without a job and how must I pay so much money because I’m not working. I had calls, SMSes and e-mails from them saying I must pay R5 000 for a job,” he said.
Shaw said he was unemployed and the search for a new job was proving difficult, but said he would never pay for a job.
Lindelwa Zulu, of Chesterville, posted on the page previously.
She said she was warned by a woman about the veracity of the jobs and said she had never been contacted.
The 24-year-old is unemployed and said she could have fallen victim had she not been warned.
Transnet urged people to report any suspected fraud to its toll-free fraud hotline at 0800 003 056, or e-mail [email protected] or fax to 0800 00 77 88.
Daily News