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Kimberley – The National Education Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) plans to bring the Northern Cape government to a halt on November 17 following allegations of corruption against several members of the provincial legislature.
High-ranking officials, including the deputy speaker and chief financial officer, are accused of financial impropriety and corruption in a case docket opened at the Kimberley police station on October 6, 2017.
Among its core demands, Nehawu wants finance officials to be stripped of their financial qualifications over the alleged misconduct.
"At the time that we opened the case, police informed us that we could not get a case number as their systems were offline," Nehawu general secretary Zola Saphetha said on Thursday.
When union representatives returned a week later, they were told the file was lost and that they had to open a new case.
Saphetha says they refused and threatened to escalate the matter.
He thanked the media for its role in helping the union secure a case number on Thursday morning.
"We suspect that there is collusion by state organs to squash our provincial day of action against several departments, including education, [the] premier's office and the office of the speaker."
Threat to matric exams
Nehawu was also unhappy with the provincial education department allegedly not agreeing to meet several salary increment agreements and improve working conditions.
It planned to take to the streets after apparently failing to resolve these issues "in the boardroom".
Matric exams are likely to be adversely affected by Nehawu's provincial day of action.
The South African Democratic Teachers' Union, the South African Students Congress and the Congress of South African Students are expected to pledge solidarity.
All Nehawu members across the sectors represented by the union, including hospitals, will join the provincial strike.
Nehawu national spokesperson Khaya Xaba said the mass action would complement the legal action. He said the matter of wasteful expenditure in the provincial government would be escalated to the auditor-general.
Attempts to get comment from provincial treasury and legislature officials were unsuccessful.
