Phokwane EPWP workers, under the Department of Environmental Affairs, said they are expected to bring their own brooms and personal protective equipment to work, and are being underpaid while working in a toxic environment.
PHOKWANE Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers, under the Department of Environmental Affairs, said they are expected to bring their own brooms and personal protective equipment (PPE) to work, and are underpaid in a toxic environment.
The workers are still waiting for answers after marching to the municipality in order to get answers to their grievances.
They were absorbed into the national EPWP at the beginning of 2023 with Phokwane Municipality acting as the middleman.
They complained that they earn half the monthly stipend that they are supposed to earn, as stipulated in their work contracts.
They demanded answers on why they, in Phokwane, earn R2,400 per month instead of R5,500 like other EPWP workers.
They said they have been sharing PPE, borrowing it from somewhere, or bringing it from their own homes, in an effort to give the department a chance to resolve their issues.
According to them, they also never received any copies of their signed contracts as proof of absorption.
They further complained that they were promised that UIF will be deducted from their salaries but there is no proof of that on their payslips either.
There is apparently also no communication on when exactly their pay date is or why their salaries are delayed.
One of the workers said they have been working for five months but have only been paid twice.
“We are being treated like this because of our desperation for jobs. We desperately need that stipend, that is why we are here. It is unfair to be treated like this due to our desperation for jobs.”
Another worker said they were supposed to get paid on the 15th of every month, but have only been paid twice in the six months since they have been absorbed.
At the time of going to print the Department of Environmental Affairs had not responded to media enquiries.
