Late yesterday afternoon, the National Coaltion of Social Services (NACOSS) formally added it’s support to the Equal Pay for Equal Work march on Friday, 28 August. This good news comes as social service workers from NGOs and other social service organisations in Durban, Johannesburg, Bisho, East London and Cape Town are readying themselves to take to the streets in a protest march on Friday, 28 August. The marchers will demand Equal Pay for Equal Work and are protetsting against the inequalities that exist in salaries paid to them, despite doing the same work as government social service workers.

In Mpumalanga, Port Elizabeth, Mmbatho and Springbok, social service workers will deliver memoranda to Social Development officals and stage pickets outside the buildings of government departments.

Social service workers are paid inadequate salaries that are substantially less than their counterparts in government departments. Only those in Limpopo have managed to secure equitable pay scales between NGO and Department of Social Development staff and will not be taking part in the protest. Limpopo Welfare Forum member, Liza van de Merwe said “while we are in support of our colleauges in other provinces to march, we have no need to as we receive a fair deal for the work we do”  Subsidy rates per month for social auxiliary workers are R15 000 ,social workers R19 000, senior social workers R22 500 and chief social workers R30 000 in Limpopo.

This is in stark contrast to other provinces, such as the Western Cape where social auxiliary workers receive around R3 900 per month and in the North West around R4 400 per month and in Gauteng, social auxiliary works are paid R7 542,92 per month and social workers R8 468,41 per month.

Social service workers are appealing to government for a just and realistic financing deal equal to that paid to government  workers that enables service delivery at a decent standard.

In Gauteng, the march will target the financial decision makers but according to a recent article in The Business Day the Department of Finance felt the appeal by NGOs was “awkward” because the way in which the Department of Social Development allocates the money it is allocated is beyond the Department of Finance’s control.

To find out more about how to get involved or for more information about the subsidies paid by government, please click here .

At the national members meeting in May, it was unanimously decided to support a proposal from Gauteng members to march on government to demand that labour rights of social service workers are protected and upheld. At present, social service workers working for NGOs are paid on average 37% less than their counterparts in government departments. Members argued that this was an unfair labour practice and decided to demand that government immediately address the situation and ensure that social service workers across South Africa get Equal Pay for Equal Work. The march is planned for Friday, 28th August 2009.

You can read more about the unequal labour practices here

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 Click here to view State Subsidy by Province May09 1.41 Mb

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