The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has received a strike certificate against the Road Accident Fund. We lodged a grievance with the CCMA because workers at the Johannesburg RAF offices were exposed to harmful working conditions. In September a fire in the CBD resulted in extended power cuts, which meant the air conditioning units were not working. Eight workers fainted from the heat, caused by working in a window less environment. The building has poor sanitation exposing workers to potentially dangerous illnesses and infections.
NUMSA lodged a grievance with the CCMA because we felt that the management at RAF in Johannesburg failed to adequately address our concerns regarding the safety of employees at RAF. They did not care that workers were suffering and did nothing to ensure that working conditions are safer. NUMSA is demanding that the Employee Relations and General Manager be suspended for the manner in which they handled this issue. The CCMA has granted us the right to strike over this issue, however, we want to avoid a strike and settle the dispute amicably.
RAF Menlyn has company assets attached
The management of the RAF continues to be in shambles. Our members have complained that for nearly month, workers at the Menlyn branch have been forced to share workstations because the computers in the Litigation and Determination Department were seized by the sheriff. The RAF’s financial problems continue to have a material impact on its ability to fulfill its mandate to pay out claims to road accident victims. As a result of its failure to pay its debts, and failure to pay out accident victims, it routinely has its assets attached to pay creditors. We must also ask what happens to the personal information of claimants once those computers have been seized. It seems RAF does not do anything to ensure that when the computers are removed, the confidential health and legal information of claimants is protected from being abused by

third parties. Our members in the Litigation department are unable to process the paperwork to instruct attorneys when the matters go to court. The lack of computers means the matters will be postponed, which means that RAF will have to pay those costs. This is wasteful expenditure! The management team at RAF have continuously failed to address this problem. The Public Protector has launched an investigation into maladministration and corruption against RAF, as a result of the complaint which we lodged on behalf of our members. We are hopeful that her office will be able to uncover the extent of the rot and corruption at RAF.
Aluta continua!
The struggle continues!
Issued by Phakamile Hlubi
NUMSA National Spokesperson (Acting) 0833767725