Metro staff paid overtime for free studies

IN a bid to encourage staff to further their education and develop their skills, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality pays about 150 of its workers overtime allowances to attend free night classes.

While the DA expressed its shock at the revelation, the ANC said it was not a foreign concept as other countries often paid students to attend universities.

At a human resources portfolio committee meeting yesterday, the director of HR transformation services, Kholiswa Makalima, said staff would not attend the classes unless the municipality paid them for their time.

Highlighting the non-attendance of staff as a challenge, Makalima's report to the portfolio committee stated the situation with staff who had problems with their overtime not being paid timeously ultimately led to them not attending their classes. - Rochelle de Kock