{"id":816,"date":"2019-11-01T13:28:36","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T11:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marxistworkersparty.org.za\/?p=816"},"modified":"2020-02-14T12:24:08","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T10:24:08","slug":"interview-epwp-workers-struggle-for-permanent-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/?p=816","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW: EPWP Workers’ Struggle for Permanent Jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
#OutsourcingMustFall Rally, Johannesburg, February 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

At the end of October the MWP interviewed a leader of the Gauteng EPWP workers about the situation facing them since their last round of marches and protest action. A new struggle will almost certainly be necessary as contracts come to an end on 31 March 2020. In the interview, a planned meeting between the the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and the workers\u2019 leaders, set for Friday, 1 November is mentioned. At the last minute the meeting was \u201cpostponed until further notice\u201d. Workers are mobilising for mass meetings to discuss the way forward in light of this latest development.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Q. What is EPWP?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A.<\/strong> The Expanded Public\nWorks Programme is a national government scheme. It was created to develop\nskills for the people deprived skills by the apartheid regime. There are lots\nof people who do not have trades. EPWP is planned and run nationally under the\nDeputy President and Nedlac [National Economic Development and Labour Council].\nFrom there it is passed to the provinces to implement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Gauteng, the\nPremier hands much of the EPWP programme to the Department of Infrastructure\nDevelopment (DID). Unfortunately, the DID managers don\u2019t understand it. But the\nmetros and municipalities run programmes as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Q. What are the pay and conditions like for EPWP\nworkers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A.<\/strong> First of all, our\nemployers will not label us as \u201cworkers\u201d. At first they called us\n\u201cbeneficiaries of the programme\u201d. But workers protested saying \u201cwe are working\nfor what we get\u201d. So then they started calling us \u201cparticipants\u201d. By those two\nwords \u2013 \u201cbeneficiary\u201d and \u201cparticipant\u201d \u2013 you are denied a salary and given a\n\u2018stipend\u2019 determined by Nedlac. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are not covered\nby the LRA [Labour Relations Act]. Rather, there was a document that was\ndeveloped which is called the Ministerial Determination.  Workers call it \u201cdraconian\u201d because it\ndehumanizes them by denying them the normal benefits of employment. There is no\npayslip. There is no UIF. Those under the DID are currently earning something\nlike R2,000 per month. But some workers, for example under the Department of\nHealth earn R3,500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Q. We understand that contracts are ending in March\nnext year. What is the situation facing the workers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A.<\/strong> The situation is very\nvolatile. The current contracts started on 1 April 2019 for one year. They\nexpire 31 March 2020. But this is not the workers first contract \u2013 it is their\nsixth. They started working in 2013. And the contracts are renewed every year\nthrough the pressure of the workers. Originally, we were only supposed to work\ntwelve months to develop our skills so we could move on and find work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the DID did\nnot give us skills development. They just took the workers, gave them shovels\nand said \u201cgo and shovel there\u201d; or, \u201ctake this broom and sweep there\u201d. What\nsort of skills are they? We start to sweep when we are five years of age. I\ndon\u2019t have to go to university or school to learn to sweep \u2013 I sweep at home!\nOr to be told how to shovel? I do that in my garden! We wanted real skills \u2013\nengineering, maintenance, production. Those are the skills we are referring to.\nSo the department failed. When the twelve months came to an end the workers\nsaid \u201cno, we are not going anywhere, we don\u2019t have those skills you promised\u201d.\nThe DID continued to fail us for six years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From August 2018\nworkers said they would take the department to court. Then they listened. They\nsaid they would take us to UJ [the University of Johannesburg] to develop our\nskills. But the first workers to go to UJ \u2013 some from as far as Vaal or Tshwane\n\u2013 were told they must come to Joburg with their own transport money. That was\nimpossible. These people are being paid a stipend of R2,000 per month. They\nmust feed their families from that stipend. But we wanted the skills. So we\nsaid, ok, let that first group of people go whilst we engage the department on\nthis issue. We succeeded in getting transport allowances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the\ndisappointment continued. We found the people running the training were wearing\nBosasa emblems [the corrupt company that has been exposed at the Zondo\nCommission]. This raised questions for us. Why is an institute of UJ\u2019s stature\ndoing business with Bosasa which was the talk of the town by then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The course\nlasted only three weeks. After these three weeks they tell you that you are a\nplumber. We said that is impossible. How can someone be developed to be a\nplumber after only three weeks? This thing is a fake. The certificates looked\nlike they just took a piece of paper and laminated making it shiny, and said\n\u201cthis is a certificate\u201d. We rejected that. As we speak now, that training has\nbeen halted. We are saying to the department: \u201cgive us real training. We fought\nthe previous [apartheid] regime over these things and you are not exempt from\nthat. We will fight you as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Q. What are the workers demanding?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A.<\/strong> They are demanding\npermanent employment. Either the department gives us proper training and finds\nus real jobs or they are stuck with us \u2013 but we refuse to be stuck with just\nthe same stipend. Remuneration of workers should be in line with living costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We understand\nthat the DID cannot hire every one of the 5,400 workers themselves. But you\nfind EPWP workers at schools doing administration, cleaning the school yards.\nYou find them under the Department of Health for example, doing maintenance and\nadministration work, and even filling higher positions. This tells us there is\na need for the workers. So why don\u2019t the departments take them on a permanent basis.\nWhoever is using the EPWP workers must take the responsibility for hiring them\n\u2013 this is the workers\u2019 demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Q. How are the workers organised?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A.<\/strong> When we started under\nEPWP we were told we cannot be organised in trade unions because we are not\nworkers, we are only \u201cbeneficiaries\u201d. But when we felt the heat from how we\nwere being treated we said \u201cno, no, there is no such thing that we cannot\nbelong to a trade union\u201d. But it is our understanding that it is not only under\na trade union that workers can stand-up and fight for their rights. A trade\nunion is not something that comes from university. It is only the ideas of the\nworkers and their struggles \u2013 when they come together they form what you call a\nunion. We can call it anything as long as what we are talking about is the\nunity of the working class itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we started to\norganise. We involved other workers through the #OutsourcingMustFall movement \u2013\nfor example the outsourced PRASA workers, who are employed by a middleman who\nchows the money and gives the bones to the workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the\nadministration changed in Joburg [out of the 2016 local elections] the struggle\nwas very hot. The new [DA\/EFF] administration said we will insource starting\nwith the security guards. Now, there is a danger when something like this\nhappens \u2013 a concession \u2013 that workers start to relax as if the struggle has\nended. But only 1,400 workers were absorbed. In PRASA and the provincial\ndepartments things didn\u2019t change. But the unity that was prevailing vanished\nand every group of workers started to organise itself separately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the EPWP\nworkers will never leave the struggle. They don\u2019t need to be told, they\nexperience the struggle, and that experience tells them that they need to do\nsomething. So the EPWP workers never left, only their spirits went down. But\nthe pressure of their situation pushed them to stay organised. There is a\ncommittee of 25 engaging with the Province, with representation from each area\nof Gauteng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Q. We understand the Saftu trade union federation supports\n#OMF. Do workers feel they get enough support?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A.<\/strong> A lot of workers thought that the creation of Saftu would end the divisions amongst workers. They had a lot of faith in Saftu and were part and parcel of its formation. At first #OMF was given a desk at Saftu but unfortunately some of the leaders of #OMF were swallowed leaving the movement on the ground crumbling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workers have\nengaged with the GS [Vavi] and have held meetings there at their offices. But\nthey find that Saftu also regards them as \u201cjust some people\u201d not as workers as\nsuch. We went there once and it was said \u201cwe need to do something about these\npeople\u201d. EPWP workers were not expecting that. They were expecting Saftu to say\n\u201chere are the workers\u201d. Saftu was formed acknowledging there are too many\nunorganised workers. By breaking free from Cosatu they were creating the space\nto go and organise the unorganised. And who are the unorganized by the way? The\nEPWP workers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Q. Will workers take action before 31 March?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A.<\/strong> Yes, very much. Action\nmay only be one meeting away. We are engaging the management on 1 November.\nCurrently the department are telling us they don\u2019t have permanent employment\nbut they do have a \u201cstrategic exit plan\u201d for us. What does that mean? It tells\nus that they want to get rid of us. That is our understanding of English. And\n\u201cstrategic\u201d means they want to play around. They produced a document saying\nthey will categorise all workers by age groups. We will have to see what they\nare offering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believe in\nunity in the working class. Yes, Saftu must come on board to unite the workers.\nBut maybe it is not enough to only have Saftu. So we are engaging with other\norganisations. We have a good relationship with the Marxist Workers Party, but\nalso other trade unions, like Demawusa and Nupsaw. We have our eye on these\norganisations for assistance in the coming struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We want to be\norganised with other workers to come up with our own political party because if\nwe have power as the working class we don\u2019t have to go and ask \u2013 we will implement\nhow we want the country to be run and how we want our lives to be. A Working\nClass Summit was organised [by Saftu in 2018] to engage on the question of\ncoming together for our own party. We want that process to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

WE SAY:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
  • Unite all EPWP workers in a broad and\ndemocratic campaign involving workers from each and every programme and from\neach and every department. <\/strong>Link-up\nwith outsourced workers in PRASA and elsewhere. Appeal for support from Saftu\nand other trade unions.<\/li>
  • Organise and struggle for permanent jobs! <\/strong>EPWP workers to be absorbed as permanent\nemployees by the departments where they work, e.g. workers in hospitals to be\nabsorbed by the Dept. of Health; workers in schools to be absorbed by the Dept.\nof Education. Recognise length of service.<\/li>
  • Scrap stipends!<\/strong> For\nwages and payslips!<\/strong> No exemptions to the R3,500 national minimum wage. All\nEPWP workers to be covered by the national minimum wage as a step toward a\nliving wage of R12,500.<\/li>
  • No Mickey Mouse training or certificates! For\nserious, accredited and recognised qualification certificates after skills\ntraining.<\/strong> Kick out Bosasa \u2013\nbring in the TVETs. Transport or transport money to be provided; all training\nto be fully catered. Guaranteed jobs at the end of training.  <\/li>
  • Decent pensions for workers at retirement age\nand for older workers!<\/strong> Pension\namount to be calculated on national minimum wage, recognising length of\nservice. Optional early retirement on the same terms for all workers aged\n55-65.<\/li>
  • Scrap the Ministerial Determination! Recognise\nEPWP \u2018participants\u2019 as workers. <\/strong>Fight for full trade union rights for EPWP workers! For full equality\nunder the Labour Relations Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act and other\nlabour legislation. Campaign in the trade unions for the full recognition of\nEPWP workers\u2019 democratic rights from day one of membership. Elect shop stewards\namong all EPWP workers.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Unite workers and trade unions around a\nsocialist programme to end unemployment and poverty:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    • Workers\u2019 economic planning to end unemployment!<\/strong> Demand the working week is reduced to 30\nhours with no cuts in pay. Share out the work with the unemployed, organised\nthrough the democratic control of hiring and firing and the re-design of shift\npatterns by workers\u2019 representatives. Build a united mass campaign of workers,\nunemployed and the precariously employed (e.g. EPWP workers) to end\nunemployment!<\/li>
    • Nationalise under democratic working class and\ncommunity control the banks, the mines, the big commercial farms, the big\nfactories and big businesses.<\/strong>\nA publicly owned and democratically planned socialist economy to meet the needs\nof all and not the profits of the capitalists.<\/li>
    • Forge the fighting unity of the working class\nin a party of mass struggle.<\/strong>\nBuild a socialist mass workers party to unite the struggles of the workplaces,\nthe communities and the youth as a vital step toward the creation of a mass\nrevolutionary party to lead the transformation of society<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      A planned meeting between the the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and the workers\u2019 leaders, set for Friday, 1 November is mentioned. At the last minute the meeting was \u201cpostponed until further notice\u201d. Workers are mobilising for mass meetings to discuss the way forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-epwp","category-workplace-struggle"],"aioseo_notices":[],"acf":[],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=816"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1106,"href":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816\/revisions\/1106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}