Nupsaw public servants leave happy with Church Square protest
|Published
National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers at a protest on Church Square. Picture: Oupa Mokoena/African News Agency(ANA)
Pretoria - Protesting members of the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers left their camps on Church Square on Friday, satisfied that their two-day mission in Pretoria would bear fruit.
The public servants from all over the country were in the heart of the capital and outside the offices of Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni to urge the government to permanently absorb various contract workers and increase their wages.
They arrived on Wednesday and marched from one department to another delivering memorandums.
They targeted departments that used contract workers such as those in the Expanded Public Works Programme, community health workers, community caregivers and early child development workers.
National convener for the union Solly Malema said Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize agreed to meet with them to discuss their frustrations concerning the lack of absorption of community health workers in some provinces.
Malema said the demonstration was supposed to end on Friday, but members began leaving late on Thursday after officials from the Department of Social Development made things easier for them by collecting the last memorandum on Church Square.
“The Department of Basic Education has told us that it was ready to heed our demand and integrate early childhood development practitioners into the formal education sector.
“They said they have the curriculum and are waiting for President Cyril Ramaphosa to make the official proclamation.
“While we look to see that our other demands are being attended to, we’ll push that the president makes the proclamation. If not, we will organise a big march to the Union Buildings.”
Pretoria News