PREMIER MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae has urged greater professionalism in the public service while addressing the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu)’s sixth provincial congress held at Ntsu Secondary School in Bethlehem.
The two-day congress, which ran from 13-14 February under the theme “Building Working-Class for Economic Liberation Towards Socialism”, opened with hundreds of delegates singing the struggle anthems “Bizani ifire brigade Kuyasha” and “Haene Pula”, reflecting a mood of renewed hope and commitment to workers’ rights.
Letsoha-Mathae, speaking to a packed hall, said: “In our efforts to professionalise, the seventh administration battled with a plethora of irregular and unlawful appointments, many of whom which were in very important and strategic positions that had the potential to handicap government’s service delivery provision.
“Many contract workers in the Office of the Premier were found to be underqualified for the positions they occupied – a phenomenon that had become a norm in the past.”
The premier conceded that corrective action had been painful and had affected some workers and their families.
However, she maintained that the government had a constitutional duty to uphold recruitment policies and labour laws.
“As difficult as it may be, government has a responsibility to comply with the recruitment policies of government and labour laws of the country,” Letsoha-Mathae said.
“Therefore, I’m proud to announce that 82 out of 112 contract workers whose employment contracts had expired have been reappointed in line with legal prescripts.”
Letsoha-Mathae concluded her address by saying: “Workers, let’s join hands and build a prosperous Free State we can all be proud of.”