SCOOTER RIDE: Authorities at Johannesburg Central Prison have to use alternative means of transport after the Department of Correctional Services stopped their bus service in 2006. The department has failed to honour court orders ordering it to... THE Department of Correctional Services is being dragged to court for failing to adhere to a series of court and arbitration orders dating back to 2007. The orders are in relation to a never-ending transport saga, which started when the Johannesburg Central Prison management discontinued a bus service for staff. Manie de Clercq, of the union Public Servants Association (PSA), said they had gone back and forth over the years trying to get the department to comply. De Clercq said their lawyers were drafting papers, with the intention to institute a contempt of court order against the department. The issue started when the department cancelled a bus service transporting officials from Sebokeng, Ennerdale and Soweto in 2006. A 2007 arbitration order declared that the department should reinstate the transport service. The department tried to have the decision reviewed but failed. The PSA again instituted a Labour Court action in June last year, compelling the department to reinstate the bus service. The department has failed to honour the judgment to date. In court papers and an October 2013 letter addressed to Correctional Services, the PSA highlights the department’s failure to comply. “The order explicitly indicates that the employer must within 30 days from the date of the order restore the status quo concerning official transport, but the department has apparently not adhered to the court order,” reads the letter. Department spokesman Manelisi Wolela said a managerial task team held eight meetings to resolve labour issues. He denied that the transport issue was ever mentioned at any of the meetings. Wolela said the department was exploring its legal options with regards to the court order, adding that the department will hold a meeting with PSA in February. “First it is not in our interest to conduct our labour and stakeholder relations through the media as this may threaten good faith in industrial relations,” said Wolela.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 08:03:40 +0000
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