Johannesburg – The Sheriff has attached 30 computers and 30 printers from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s head office over its failure to pay compensation to an employee.
On Thursday, the Public Servants Association (PSA) said it “was forced to engage the services of the Sheriff to execute a writ of execution after the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development failed to implement an arbitration award issued by the General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council”.
The PSA said the department was found to have treated an employee, who is a union member, unfairly when he applied for a higher post, alleging that he had failed to attach his matric certificate to his CV.
“The employee, however, possessed a master’s degree, which made the attachment of a lower-level qualification irrelevant,” the PSA said.
“The Commissioner agreed with the PSA and granted the employee an amount of R55 000 as compensation in February 2023.
“The department simply, and without valid reason, ignored all calls to implement the award, forcing the PSA to certify the award, and a writ of execution was issued.”
The PSA said the department continued to ignore the implementation even after being served with the writ of execution.
“This again forced the PSA to request the Sheriff to execute,” the union said.
“On 20 June 2024, the Sheriff executed the writ and attached 30 computers and 30 printers from the Department’s Head Office to be sold at auction.”
The PSA noted that various government departments have for years ignored arbitration awards and displayed “total disrespect to legal processes such as a writ of execution”.
The PSA said it will continue to enforce these awards within the full ambit of the law and will not tolerate this conduct by employers.
Developing story…
Comments from the department will be added ASAP.
