Two suspended National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) shop stewards employed by the department of justice barged into the department's building on Wednesday, despite being barred from the premises.
They threatened to disrupt an executive committee meeting demanding that department of justice director-general Doctor Mashabane reinstate them.
The two workers were placed on precautionary suspension in July g after allegations of misconduct, department spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi confirmed.
A source told TimesLIVE Premium that the two employees face charges including violating the communication policy of the department by leaking internal matters to the media and the public.
“They are also charged with writing and communicating directly to parliament on fabricated and false allegations against senior management. They are charged with dishonesty for writing falsehoods to the media, knowing they are false, but aimed at smearing the characters of senior management and the director-general.
“One of the conditions of the precautionary suspension is that they are not allowed to come to the workplace without permission,” the source said.
According to Masibi, the two entered the department without authorisation and proceeded to restricted areas where Mashabane, deputy justice minister Andries Nel and minister Thembi Simelane’s offices are located.
“They made their way to the DG’s office while he was chairing the executive committee meeting and threatened to disrupt the meeting if the DG did not come out to reinstate them.
“This unauthorised access, combined with their threats, is a serious breach under the public service disciplinary code. The department remains committed to instilling and upholding a culture of discipline and fostering respect for rules governing behaviour in public service,” Masibi said.
She said while no injuries were reported, the incident caused significant concern as it placed senior management in a security-threatening situation.
“The department can confirm that the DG and other senior managers are safe and all operations continue without interruption.”
According to a source, the two suspended workers were granted access by a Nehawu member who was head of security in the department. The two were also allegedly accompanied by Nehawu's Tshwane regional chairperson and secretary, which Masibi confirmed.
“An investigation is currently under way to determine how the suspended officials gained access to the building,” she said.
While the Nehawu Tshwane regional chairperson could not be reached, the union’s national spokesperson Lwazi Nkolonzi said he was unaware of the incident and doubts that the regional leadership would be involved.
However, he confirmed that the union was handling disciplinary matters and “issues” at the justice department.
“There are issues that the union is dealing with at the department and those matters are handled by our shop stewards and our legal department. The issues vary and include accusations about what is happening in the workplace. We do not want to divulge the information to the media about such accusations because the ... union has to respond to these accusations, which the union is doing.
“When everything is in place, the union will be given an opportunity to state its case,” he told TimesLIVE Premium.
Masibi said the department has been prepared to proceed with the disciplinary hearing since a month after the suspension and is ready to conclude the process.
“Their disciplinary hearing, initially scheduled for August 2024, was postponed at their request due to the non-availability of their representatives ... The hearing has been rescheduled to October 27 at the request of the suspended officials,” she said.
The two suspended officials refused to speak to TimesLIVE Premium about the incident or their suspension, both stating that “we don’t speak to the media” before abruptly hanging up the call.
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