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18 May 2006: No 26/06

THE MANAGEMENT OF COSATU PROTEST ACTION ON 18 MAY 2006

On 05 April 2006 COSATU served a notice in terms of section 77 (i) (b) of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 to embark on a national mass protest action. In terms of the notice COSATU calls for a national stay-away by employees on 18 May 2006. The intended strike is therefore protected. In other words employees who participate in the protest action do not commit a delict or a breach of contract nor could the Department subject them to any disciplinary action.

All Department of Defence Units, Bases, Directorates, Formations, Fleets and Commands are required to convey the following information regarding the handling of /dealing with employees who will participate in the above mentioned protest action.

The principle of “no work, no pay” should be strictly applied to those employees who participate despite the fact that the protest action is protected, except those on official leave. The principle would apply for the absences of a full day as well as part of a working day. The following calculation rates would be applied:

Employees paid on an hourly basis: Pay to be deducted for the hours not worked.
Permanent employees and employees paid on a 6/8 or 5/8 basis:
Daily rate: Annual notch (e.g. annual basic salary) divided by 365 and rounded off the nearest cent.
Hourly rate: Daily rate divided by 8 and rounded off to the nearest cent.
Essential services workers are not allowed to participate in this protest action during working hours. If they participate, it would constitute an act of misconduct and they must be subjected to disciplinary measures. No leave should be granted for purposes of the protest action. Leave would only be granted under the existing leave policy of the Department.

It should be noted that in terms of Government Gazzette No. 18276 Vol 387 of 12 September 1997, the following Services in the DOD were designated as essential services:

• The Secretariat for Defence;
• The Intelligence Division;
• The Finance Division;
• The Parachute seamstresses of the South African Army;
• The parachute packing operations of the South African Army ;
• The Military Intelligence functionaries of the South African Army;
• The storemen in the South African Navy;
• The provisioning officers and clerks in the South African Navy;
• The technical personnel in the South African Navy,
• The tugboat personnel in the South African Navy;
• The South African Medical Services;
• Those serving in the Military posts in the South African National Defence Force;
• The cryptographers in the SANDF;
• The maintenance services in the SANDF;

Accurate records must be kept of employees who participated in the COSATU protest action.

• The number of employees who participated in the protest action.
• The number of person days lost during the protest action.
• The amount deducted in terms of the principle of “no work, no pay”.

The Directorate HR Policy Management (M. Kgwedi) can be contacted at (012) 355-6260 regarding the contents of the info bulletin. nagement (M. Kgwedi) can be contacted at (012) 355-6260 regarding the contents of the info bulletin.