IEC strike could jeopardise elections

The 2014 National Elections might be jeopardised seriously by the intended strike of almost 600 of the 900 Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) staff members.

This comes shortly after an forum of political parties including the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), Agang SA, Azapo, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP) and the UDM have demanded that Chairperson of the IEC, Advocate Pansy Tlakula resigns. The DA and Freedom Front Plus (FF+) did not join the forum.

Tlakula has been implicated in a PricewaterhouseCoopers forensic audit as well as public protector Thuli Madonsela’s report about maladministration pertaining to the leasing of the IEC’s R320-million head office in Centurion, Pretoria.

The employees of the IEC who are members of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) have indicated that they will go on strike if their demands are not met.

Nehawu spokesperson Sizwe Phamla said these demands included the axing of Tlakula before the elections on 7 May, that the IEC change its anti-union approach, compensation for work done on special projects, fair implementation of the pool car system that currently sees those without access to them using their personal vehicles for work without a car allowance and compensation for overtime.

The serious implications of such a strike were highlighted by Phamla who said that “these are not people who merely mend the voting stations, but they are the people who make sure that there are voting stations, ensure that they are open on time and have staff, and also prevent incidents that might compromise the elections”.

The strike is said to be supported by more than 90 per cent of IEC employees.