Cape Town - Some members of the SAPS stationed at Cape Town Central police station allege they are being unfairly treated by the management.
The members claim they were made to change units by the station management without their consent.
They said they were 10 members working for visible policing and eight moved after being threatened.
One of the members, who did not want to be named in fear of being victimised, said they were called to a meeting by the management.
“We were 10 members when we were called into a meeting last year and in that meeting we were served with a notice of transfer, instructing us that we must report to the detectives unit immediately and no consultation took place,” he said.
He said they were never given a chance to say if they want to be transferred or not.
The member said they were supposed to be given 21 days before the move, to state whether they wanted to move or not. He said their 21 days started after they were moved to the detectives unit, going against procedure.
“You have to be given 21 days to make a representation but they told us to report immediately and do the representation while we were already working at the unit, which is not fair labour practices,” he said.
However, he said eight of them reported to the new unit because they could not stand the intimidation and bullying, but two of them stood their ground.
He said the provincial office that is responsible for transferring and placing members was not aware of what was going on at the station.
He said there are processes that needed to be followed either by a member who wants a transfer or the station's management that needed to transfer members.
The member said the others that went to the unit had never had any training and could not be able to solve cases.
“If I want to go to another unit I must apply and the application has to be approved and go through the necessary training.”
He said since their refusal to join the detectives unit, they have been abused by the management and ended up going for counselling.
He alleged that one of the reasons they rejected the transfer was the fact that their benefits, like overtime, were going to be taken away.
He said they were charged for insubordination and the disciplinary process was finalised in March and they were acquitted on the charges, but their salaries were blocked for the past two months.
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) provincial spokesperson Xolile Marimani said the employer did not consider the protocols when transferring the members.
Marimani said they had to intervene because the members who refused to move were charged.
“They were charged with insubordination and their salaries were taken from them but we won that case and their salaries will be paid,” he said.
He said the members, on their representation, mentioned the financial implications the transfer would have on them.
He said detectives did not have allowances that other members have because they do not work night shifts, overtime and other days that have benefits.
“That would have affected them financially and some of them stay far from the station, so they clubbed up to get to work and that saved a lot of money,” he said.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said the matter was between the employees and their employer.
She suggested that the members in question follow the internal SAPS grievance procedure to raise their concerns.
Weekend Argus