Pretoria - The Independent Policing Union of South Africa (Ipusa) has expressed concern about the shortage of manpower at SAPS 10111 call centres across the country.
This came after Police Minister Bheki Cele revealed the call centres were understaffed by 4 061 out of an ideal number of 10 032 staff members employed at 10111 centres across the country since April 2022.
Cele was responding to a parliamentary question posed by DA police spokesperson Andrew Whitfield, who wanted to know the number of personnel that should have been employed at each 10111 call centre for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years, and since April 2022.
The union attributed staff shortages to an agreement signed by workers’ unions and the SAPS in 2019, which essentially saw 10111 call centre workers who previously worked under the Public Service Act being categorised under the Police Act.
Ipusa president Bethuel Nkuna said the agreement was “ill-advised” because it did not seek to address the demands for better salaries by workers who went on strike in 2017.
“This agreement was discriminatory as all members who were already in the employ of the SAPS who had tattoos and had done so-called illicit activities to leave the call centre to their nearest police stations. This was done without the SAPS having a contingency plan to replace this vacuum created by this agreement,” Nkuna said.
As a result of the agreement most members left the call centre service because their salaries were downgraded upon being transferred to the Police Act.
Nkuna said the union threw its support behind Parliament’s recent call for police commissioner General Fannie Masemola to have a proper turnaround plan for the 10111 call centres nationally.
It is envisaged that such a plan would address manpower shortages at the call centres.
Nkuna said: “Ipusa is in one voice with Parliament in its call for the national commissioner to have a proper turnaround plan for the 10111 members, which starts with proper grading of members where their years of service will be recognised. We cannot have members who have served the SAPS for a decade and more to be ranked at a level of constable, and members being left out of transfer because of tattoos and previous transgressions.”
On Friday, the Public Servants Association condemned the failure by the SAPS to fill vacant positions at 10111 call centres.
“The PSA has consistently been calling for the filling of vacant positions in the entire public service. The Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele, recently commented in Parliament that the call centre received a lot of calls and that not all calls were answered because of a shortage of staff,” the union said.
It further said citizens who depended on the 10111 facility for their safety were in danger of not getting protection from this unit as their last resort.
“The call centre provides critical services to vulnerable people and cannot be paralysed by ignorance or a lack of capacity,” the PSA said.
Pretoria News