BOSETU sues govt for scarce skills
Mpho Mokwape | Friday June 24, 2016 17:01
According to BOSETU, the two have failed to implement two court orders that allowed payment of allowance to teachers in the scarce skills category.
The union says it intends to take the two departments to court for failing to implement judgements of the High Court and those of the Industrial Court on payment of scarce skills allowance to teachers and defying two directives issued by then DPSM directors.
Moreover, the union has also accused a certain Kgosidiile who acted on behalf of the permanent secretary in the MoESD for undermining a matter that had been settled by more than two judgements of the court by overruling the contents of the directives of the DPSM to pay the teachers.
In their notice directed to the Attorney General’s Chambers dated June 21, 2016 the union explained that in 2008 the government through the DPSM came up with an attraction and retention strategy for public service employees considered to be possessing scarce skills. The union noted that the strategy was meant to ensure that such employees do not migrate for greener pastures outside the public service.
“The employer through DPSM formulated guidelines and a list of a host of occupations eligible for scarce skills allowance. The said list of beneficiaries is also contained in the DPSM directive of 2008 and the directive indicated that there shall be an upper panel whose mandate would be to assess any additional submissions on the scarce skill that may come from the ministries,” reads the notice.
The union said the same directive also indicated that there was to be a technical committee comprising DPSM and the employment and manpower planning section whose duty was to carry out an annual skills audit to determine areas of the greatest need based on submissions by accounting officers, for consideration by the employer.
Moreover the union explained that the ball was kept rolling as in November 2009 a review of the skills audit was conducted which resulted in the DPSM directive dated November 30, 2009 and also covered holders of the AAT qualifications.
It reads: “In April 2013 another circular savingram was circulated to all ministries to pay holders of diploma in accounting and business studies scarce skills allowance effective from April 1, 2013. Employees holding diploma in accounting and business studies were erroneously omitted in the savingram of DPSM dated April 23, 2013.”
The notice also indicated that on March 31, 2014 the then director of DPSM, Carter Morupisi issued a savingram authorising public service employees holding diploma in accounting and business studies to earn scarce skills allowance that effected on April 1, 2014.
On December 2, 2015 the director Ruth Maphorisa issued another circular savingram authorising employees holding degree in accounting or related qualifications to be paid scarce skills allowance.
The union said following these two directives, on March 9, 2016 Kgosidiile wrote overruling the contents of the two directives when he was responding to a letter of the union’s secretary general who quoted the DPSM’s correspondence dated August 10, 2015.
Now the union maintains that should the matter reach court, they will seek an order compelling the respondents, especially the MoESD to comply with the courts’ judgements as well as the two directives.
Further, the union wants the respondents to pay costs in punitive scale to send a clear message to the respondents to uphold the rule of law.