City manager Dr Moeketsi Mosola. Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA) City manager Dr Moeketsi Mosola. Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)
Pretoria - unions have lodged a grievance against the embattled city manager Dr Moeketsi Mosola for allegedly contravening the City of Tshwane recruitment policies.
In this regard, the City risks being hauled to the bargaining council if Mosola fails to provide positive responses to the allegations.
South African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) regional secretary Mpho Tladinyane said they had given Mosola until this week to address their grievance, failure of which will leave them with no option but to take the necessary legal action.
The union wrote to Mosola demanding clarity on his alleged inconsistencies with regard to the application of the human resource regulations and policies.
It gave an example for long-serving official Selby Bokaba, who has been sitting at home since the end of December after his second short-term employment contract expired. He was recommended for the permanent position of Divisional Head: Strategic Communication in September 2018, but Mosola refused to authorise the appointment, even on a short-term basis.
On the other hand, Mosola approved the the awarding of a contract of Landela Mahlati as Acting Divisional Head: Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network Division for a period of six months “or until the post is filled” to ensure continuity of work while measures are put in place to fill the position.
This, despite her immediate supervisor rejecting the contract offer, arguing that staffing policy needed to be followed. Human resources also did not support the report.
Mosola, who has also been implicated of tender irregularities, had previously given her three months work despite the negative comments of HR and her immediate supervisor.
In a letter to the City, Samwu wrote: “We have, however, noted that the employer has appointed some divisional head whose interviews were conducted later than that of Strategic Communication. This, therefore, indicates that the employer is inconsistent, unreasonable and lacks transparency.”
It further demanded that City release the results of recruitment process for the post; the highest scored candidate must be appointed immediately, Samwu said.
Prior to the letter, Samwu and its Independent Municipal & Allied Trade Union counterparts met with MMC for corporate services Cilliers Brink and executive mayor Solly Msimanga to discuss these concerns in December 2018.
During the meeting, both unions raised a concern that competency assessments, strictly required for the appointment of senior managers in local government, had been made a requirement for the appointment of division heads under Mosola.
This was despite the fact that divisional heads in the City – previously executive directors – and other officials not reporting directly to the city manager did not conform to the definition of “senior managers” in the legislation; their recruitment occurs within the scope of the staffing policy.
Although the policy allowed for competency assessments to be used in recruitment, it was customary for organised labour to be consulted on at least the positions for which such test will be used, and the required performance. This had not happened in the City, both unions said.
“It is unclear what results successful candidates have to obtain in competency assessments to become eligible for appointment. In some cases, it is alleged, candidates who have scored ‘basic’ have been appointed, and in other instances appointment has been refused on the grounds of such a score. This seemingly renders the application of competency tests in the recruitment process arbitrary, and unfair,” according to the unions.
Both unions also raised the issue that Mosola had changed service providers who perform competency assessments on its behalf several times.
“This has, in part, caused delays in the appointment of divisional heads. The staffing policy, it is claimed, requires such positions to be filled within a period of three months. But many of the divisional head posts have taken far in excess of this time to be filled,” they said.
They further stated that the “unreasonable” delay in the filling of key managerial posts causeds instability in the City administration, and negatively affected the performance and working conditions of employees.
“The fixed-term contracts of incumbents in some of these positions are extended, or not extended, and there is no clear reasons provided for contracts that are not extended.
The concern is that the manner in which this discretion is exercised is either arbitrary, or prejudicial, and unfair. He is basically abusing his discretion to punish those he dislikes. Courts have ruled previously that discretion has to pass the rationality test.”
Further, the unions expressed a concern that fixed-term contracts had been extended so many times that regardless of the contractual terms of the extensions, the employees concerned might have gained a legitimate expectation of permanent employment by operation of labour law.
Certain fixed-term contracts had also seem to be extended for longer periods than other contracts, a decision the unions described as unfair, they said.
Another matter discussed was the number of cases managerial posts left vacant, and could not be filled by the recruitment process because the incumbents had been on suspension for periods in excess of six months. This included the group head: human capital management Gerald Shingange who has been on suspension since the middle of the 2018. According to the unions, this had a particularly destabilising effect on the department.
When contacted for comment, Mosola said it was not in the character of the City of Tshwane to conduct its internal matters in the media.
Msimanga’s spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi said: “We confirm that trade union representatives met with the executive mayor late last year to raise their concern about recruitment practices in the City. The mayor wrote to the acting city manager at the time to obtain answers, but they have not yet been forthcoming."