Emergency 10111 workers threaten to strike over salaries, with Vavi federation’s backing

Hundreds of 10111 call centre workers marched to the Minister of Police’s office in Tshwane on Tuesday to hand over a memorandum of demands which they want Fikile Mbalula’s office to address within seven days.

The workers say that for four years their pleas for their salaries to be brought in line with other government call centre workers have been ignored.

They claim that despite several meetings with then police commissioner, Riah Phiyega, and other senior police officials and a task team set up to benchmark their earnings against call centre operators at Home Affairs, Sassa, the Presidential Hotline, SARS and Crime Stop, recommending that their salary levels be increased, this was yet to be done.

According to the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) which supported the march on Tuesday, a benchmarking report developed by a task team that Phiyega set up indicated that the salary level of workers at 10111 should be increased to salary level seven at R226,211 per year.

“We did the benchmark where we checked all the government department call centres and found that 10111 workers earn less than others, yet they are not only dealing with normal calls of enquiry but ones where people are in distress and traumatised,” said deputy provincial chairperson of the South African Policing Union, Peter Ntsime.

One of the workers, Mochidi Talagadi, said “they wanted an increase so that they could put food on the table and do their job without hesitating. The hours we work are long but our pay is little”.

On Tuesday morning, workers gathered at Princes Park in the Tshwane city centre where music reverberated. Small groups of workers danced while bearing placards saying “Equal pay for equal work” and “No to exploitation to PSA members”. The march proceeded to the minister’s office where SAFTU Secretary General Zwelinzima Vavi addressed the workers.

He said: “A deal is a deal and the agreement must be honoured by implementing what suspended Commissioner Riah Phiyega promised to the workers.”

Vavi added that they refuse to be described as essential services as this would mean the workers would have to apply for leave in order to embark on a strike.

Major-General Sally De Beer said the workers’ memorandum would be addressed. DM

Photo: Emergency call centre workers march to the police ministry over a pay dispute. Photo: Puseletso Nthate