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The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] condemns with the contempt it deserves the removal of children and youth at the Bosasa Mogale Youth Development Centre in Krugersdorp by the Gauteng Department of Social Development.
 
The provincial department has prematurely embarked on a process of removing children and youth from the centre and placing them at the departmentally run Walter Sisulu Child and Youth Care Centre, in Noordgesig. This is being instigated and activated by the department outside any consultation with the union regionally and provincially, and disregarding the fact that the department does not have any capacity in terms of staff and accommodation to take over more children than those that are already placed in the centre.
 
Walter Sisulu Child and Youth Care Centre is divided into 2 sections in the secure care department. Secure Care 1 initially accommodated the capacity of 30 children, but this was later increased to 42 due to the increased influx of children admitted in the centre. Secure Care 2 accommodated the capacity of 60 children, but was also increased to 84 due to the same reasons. This means the whole secure care department has the capacity of accommodating 90 children, but currently houses 113 children in total. The provincial department is planning to remove a total of 65 children and youth from Bosasa by the end of February 2019 which is totally way more than the accepted norms and standards. The placement of more children at Walter Sisulu Child and Youth Care Centre will not only see overcrowding at the centre, it will also see the perpetuation of the under staffing the problem being worsened and escalated to a greater degree; than what is acceptable in the norms and standards which indicate that 1 Child and Youth Care Worker is to attend to 6 children per shift.
 
The national union is seriously offended by the fact that instead of addressing our reasonable demand on insourcing, they would rather undermine labour legislation and safety precautions by forcing our members at Walter Sisulu Child and Youth Care Centre to deal with such high volumes and disregard their safety and possible change in the conditions of their employment where staffing norms and standards are concerned. We are further condemn the fact that the provincial department would risk the lives of the concerned children by exposing them to such unacceptable practices which is against the provisions of the of the Children’s Act and Child Justice Act.
 
We call upon the provincial department to desist from employing such malpractice and accept that the department needs to immediately outsource all services currently outsourced to Bosasa Youth Development Centres with the Human Resources it brings.
 
Appointment of Administrator at African Global Operations
 
The union notes the appointment of Mr Cloete Murray of Sechaba Trust (Pty) Ltd as the administrator who has taken over operations at the centres under African Global Operations as at 22nd February 2019. The union shall monitor the operations at African Global Operations in particular at Bosasa Youth Development Centres under the management of the appointed administrator. The national union has written a letter to the administrator requesting a meeting in order to clarify the status of the terms and conditions of employment of our members.
 
The union is in the process of convening membership meetings at all Bosasa Youth Development Centres between 27th February 2019 and 6th March 2019 as a means to explain the situation around the Voluntary Liquidation, the takeover by the appointed administrator and the impact thereof and on workers conditions of service and future. These membership meetings will also be used to report on the status of the demand for insourcing in the sense of mobilizing for a national campaign against National Department of Social Development for immediate insourcing.

 
Issued by NEHAWU