Home Affairs Minister Wants the Department Reclassified to Open on Saturdays Without Paying Overtime
- The Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi wants to reclassify his department as a part of the security sector
- A Bill has submitted that will allow the home affairs department to open on the weekend without having to pay overtime
- Motsoaledi said that the department hoped to implement shift work similar to the process used by nurses and police
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PRETORIA - The Department of Home Affairs has implemented a plan that will allow its services to be rendered on Saturdays without having to pay overtime to its employees. The department wants to be classified as a security department and has submitted a Home Affairs Bill to the cabinet.
The Bill will allow the department to legally changed into a security sector which is allowed to open on weekends. Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi said not being able to open on weekends has resulted in the department having long queues during the week which he hoped to reduce.
Source: Getty Images
The minister said clients are affected as they have no time to visit home affairs because they are at work during the week. While responding to a parliamentary question, Motsoaledi said his department is the negatively affected, TimesLIVE reported. He said that the department hoped to implement shift work similar to the process used by nurses and police.
However, labour unions insist on deploying the same employees who work during the week, to work on weekends and pay them overtime. The proposal has reached a standstill due to labour unions. According to BusinessTech, Motsoaledi said that not being able to open on weekends affects members of the union the most.
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SA weighs in
Social media users believe having home affairs opened over the weekend is long over due but call for employees to be compensated:
@ShembeZwilakhe said:
“Never thought of the department of home affairs as a security department, but it really is. It’s the first line of defence against SA's sovereignty.”
@pgmaumela wrote:
“Long overdue. They used to work on Saturday and we didn't have these backlogs we are currently facing.”
@OratileMratha commented:
“This is actually a great idea, those who can't go there during the week will at least have a chance on Saturday.”
@MaxwellModiba added:
“Great initiative. Service to the people is being taken into consideration.”
Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi plans to arrest undocumented “rascals” who commit crimes in SA
In a related matter, Briefly News also reported Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi has taken a firm stance against illegal immigrants and has launched a sting operation against them. A video of his address to the African National Congress (ANC), where he discussed undocumented foreign nations, has been doing its rounds on social media.
Motsoaledi, who has spoken out on numerous occasions about his views on the matter, said that criminals commit crimes in their own countries and seek refuge in South Africa. He said that Government should not be scared to discuss issues surrounding immigration and that South Africa is the only country that accepts “rascals”.
The minister said that people are abusing the meaning of democracy and officials will no longer allow it, according to SowetanLIVE. He plans to arrest undocumented nationals. Motsoaledi commented that when officials try to solve the illegal immigrant issue in the country, they are dubbed as xenophobic. He also called out the ANC and other ministers for not addressing the issue.
Source: Briefly News
