Sapa | 20 December, 2012 08:38
Airforce pilots. File picture.
Image by: Financial Mail
Around 200 airforce soldiers who were mistakenly given performance bonuses in December will be made to pay them back. A letter stating that the bonuses were awarded by mistake was circulated internally, Beeld reported. Many of the soldiers affected are already on holiday, and will only see the letter when they return to work in January. Others, who are still at work, have said they have consulted lawyers and will fight in court as the letter is invalid.
The airforce usually pays its performance bonuses earlier in the year, but this year they were paid with employees' December salary cheques. Soldiers are also unaware whether they have been awarded the bonuses until the money is deposited into their bank accounts. During the past year, guidelines handed down from senior airforce management dictated that those who had been promoted during the past year could not receive an additional performance bonus.
"That in itself already contravenes the labour law," one of the soldiers affected told Beeld. According to the internal letter, the bonuses would be deducted in full from the January salary. "It's a big mess, because we've already paid tax on it. How are they going to fix it, and what about the people who come back in January to find that they're not getting any salary at the end of the month?" According to the newspaper the airforce was not available to comment on the issue.
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If anyone should lose their bonuses then it should be Lindiwe Sisulu and maybe the whole Cabinet!
She was the worst Minister ever appointed to command the Military.
The 500 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members who illegally marched to the Union Buildings in 2009 and who refused to report to their home units for investigation will be dismissed, according to the Chief of the South African Army.
ReplyDeleteThe previous defence minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, placed the marchers on special leave before it was decided they should be tried under the military courts system. The members were ordered to report back to their units and those who responded were sent to121 South African Infantry Battalion at Mtubatuba in Kwa Zulu Natal for a preliminary investigation into the matter.
In total, 300 members decided to report back and are at Mtubatuba facing disciplinary action, according to Lieutenant General Vusumuzi Masondo. One the investigation is either completed or postponed, the soldiers will return to duty.
Those who ignored the Chief of the SANDF’s order to report back to their units will be administratively discharged, Masondo said. This amounts to 500 soldiers. Masondo noted that the “unfortunate incident” of the Union Building demonstration “cast doubt on our ability to defend ourselves.”
He added that disciplinary action would also be taken against those who invited former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema to address them in September.
In August 2009, soldiers illegally marched on the Union Buildings in defiance of two military orders and a court order. They tried to climb the fence surrounding the government complex during their protest to demand better salaries. Police used water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the soldiers after the march turned violent.
After the incident the soldiers each received a notice informing them of their “provisional dismissal”. They were accused of attending an illegal march, failing to obey orders, failing to dissociate themselves from violent protest, mutiny and of scandalising the SANDF. They were informed that their continued employment would constitute a security risk. The notice called on members to prove, within 10 days, why they should not be permanently dismissed. The notice and consequent paid suspension of the soldiers led to a years long court battle between the South African National Defence Union (SANDU) and the SANDF. In July Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, decided to charge the marchers under the military court system.
( DefenceWeb)