Weekend shifts see traffic men kick back

THE Eastern Cape Transport Department has introduced a controversial shift system for its traffic officers which will see them work Saturday and Sunday as normal shifts in an attempt to stop paying officers an overtime allowance.

However the plan has backfired, with some traffic officers across the province refusing to take up the weekend shifts.

Union representative Zamikhaya Skade, of the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru), said he was aware of traffic officers in certain districts refusing to work at weekends.

He said there was a need for more traffic officers on the roads at weekends to reduce road fatalities.

A senior traffic officer, who did not want to be named, said the department had recently been embarrassed when traffic officers refused to escort VIP delegates to two official funerals held at weekends.

"The department had to call in national traffic officers when we refused to work on both weekends."

Yesterday Transport spokesman Ncedo Kumbaca said: "Provincial traffic officers are now declared shift workers in terms of Resolution 14 of 2009. This means that their set of given working days can be any set of five days."

Traffic officers in six districts – Cacadu, Amathole, Alfred Nzo, OR Tambo, Chris Hani and Joe Gqabi – said the system was introduced two weeks ago.

The affected roads are the N2 between East London, Mthatha and Kokstad, the N6 between East London and Aliwal North, and the N2 between East London and Port Elizabeth. - Zwanga Mukhuthu