Johannesburg – A strike is looming at the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has announced that is has served the Road Accident Fund with a 48-hour notice to strike.
“We are mobilising our members for a shutdown of all RAF offices on Thursday, (14 March 2024),” read part of the statement released by NUMSA.
“We are demanding that RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo must be removed because of the disastrous state of the entity.”
NUMSA said on Thursday members will march to the offices of the National Department of Transport in Pretoria to hand over a memorandum of demands, to Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga listing all the problems at the RAF.
The union said the problems that its members want resolved include:
- RAF is outsourcing its call centre operation conducted by its employees despite the uncertainties surrounding their job security.
- RAF violates the POPI Act because personal information is in the hands of a third party
- SCOPA is seemingly unable to act against RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo after NUMSA made detailed submissions about the mismanagement of RAF.
- At least 200 claims handlers remain on suspension since 2022 when they were accused of fraud by the management, and there has been no disciplinary action against them.
- There is an unbearable backlog of unprocessed RAF claims caused by the lack of Claims Handlers.
- The RAF is continuing to implement the restructuring of the organisation, and it is doing so after it abandoned the formal, lawful restructuring which was under the auspices of CCMA, in February 2023.
NUMSA said: “Mr. Letsoalo behaves as if he is untouchable which is why the RAF is in shambles.
“There is a complete failure to regulate his behaviour, and it seems even the board of the RAF is helpless in the face of his gross incompetence.
“NUMSA is demanding that Collins Letsoalo must be fired for the disastrous state of the RAF.”
Last year in February, Mpumalanga Judge President Justice Francis Legodi issued a scathing judgment against RAF CEO Letsoalo.
The judgment, states that the CEO of the RAF must personally pay for the legal costs in two RAF matters because the fund did not do its work.
“NUMSA supports this judgment because it clearly illustrates the challenges brought about by the CEO’s lack of foresight,” said the statement issued by NUMSA General Secretary Irvin Jim.
RAF is a public entity whose core function is to compensate victims of road accidents.
The RAF has not yet commented on the imminent strike action.
