Gauteng wins case on police rentals
The Labour Court has dismissed a police union’s application to prevent the Gauteng government from charging its members market-related rentals for living in state accommodation.
“The court application by [the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union] was dismissed with costs,” the provincial government said in a statement on Friday.
The court ruled that the decision to charge market-related rentals was taken by the department as a landlord and not as an employer.
“In other words, this is a matter between landlord and tenants, not employer and employee.”
Gauteng infrastructure development MEC Bheki Nkosi said: “This is a landmark judgment for my department, which will go a long way in assisting the department to implement market-related rentals.”
Popcru’s action came after the department issued a notice of intention on February 24, 2009, to charge market-related rentals to all occupants of state houses. It said the market-related rentals were scheduled to come into effect on August 1, 2009.
It implied that new lease agreements were to be entered into between the occupants and the department, as landlord, from June 1, 2010.
Anyone turning down the offer had to vacate their property by May 31, 2010. The rental issue would also be excluded from collective bargaining.
The department said it would now apply for a declaratory order to enable it to secure the market-related rentals and to prevent others from making a similar application.
Comment from Popcru could not immediately be obtained.
Mwelase
What Popcr was fighting for is baseless. Those officers they get paid yet they want to stay and live on government pocket. Completely other peoples are insane.Report Abuse
Ramonab
As a law abiding, taxpaying civil servant, I must applaud the MEC for the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development, Mr Bheki Nkosi for his successfully crackdown on public servants represented by POPCRU, who occupy government property at grossly discounted rates by ensuring that they are legally obliged to fit the bill for market appropriate rentals.It is high time we tackle public servants, who abuse the system, some of whom pay as little as R200 for rentals – this cannot be acceptable. This court judgement will pave the way for government to evict cosy public servants who have benefited unjustly and wish to continue to benefit at the expense of the tax payer and the expense of government.
I must further applaud the Labour Court, which not only passed this precedent judgement but also ordered that the application is dismissed with costs. This will be a stern warning to other possible applicants, who wish to test both government and the law without sufficient cause.
It is also indicative of the MECs commitment to closing all loopholes, that his department is applying to the Court to secure an order to effectively implement the market appropriate rentals. This will prevent potential applicants, who were not part of POPCRU application to make another attempt to stop the Department from fulfilling its mandate.
Report Abuse
Skhence
I can not agree much with you Ramona. People think state assets are theirs whereas they belong to all the citizens. Big Up again the MEC Nkosi. We really need his cool head...Report Abuse