TECHNICAL BRIEF ON

THE RESOLUTION OF

GRIEVANCES

01 APRIL 2017 TO 30

SEPTEMBER 2017

1

Table of contents

1. Introduction and Background ................................................................................... 2

2. Statistical Overview ................................................................................................... 2

2.1 Total number of grievances reported by national and provincial departments .... 2

2.2 Reporting of grievances by national departments .................................................. 4

2.3 Reporting of grievances by provinces ..................................................................... 7

2.4 Nature of grievances: national and provincial departments ................................... 8

2.5 Number of grievances lodged per race: national and provincial departments ..... 9

2.6 Number of grievances per gender: national and provincial departments ............10

2.7 Number of grievances per salary level: national and provincial departments .....11

2.8 Status of finalisation of cases in terms of prescribed timeframes .......................11

3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................15

List of figures

Figure 1: Comparison of the total number of grievances reported by national and provincial

departments ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Figure 2: Collective grievances reported by national and provincial departments ....................... 3

Figure 3: Top ten national departments ...................................................................................... 4

Figure 4: Number of grievances reported by provinces .............................................................. 7

Figure 5: Top ten provincial departments ................................................................................... 8

Figure 6: Comparison in respect of the nature of grievances: national and provincial

departments ............................................................................................................................... 9

Figure 7: Number of grievances per race: national and provincial departments.........................10

Figure 8: Percentage of grievances lodged per gender: national and provincial departments ...10

Figure 9: Comparison in respect of salary levels of aggrieved employees: national and provincial

departments ..............................................................................................................................11

Figure 10: Status of finalisation of cases in terms of prescribed timeframes ..............................12

List of tables

Table 1: Number of collective grievances reported per national and provincial departments ...... 3

Table 2: Number of grievances reported by national departments.............................................. 5

Table 3: Nil grievances reported by provincial departments ....................................................... 8

Table 4: Status of finalisation of cases of the top ten national departments with the highest

number of grievances................................................................................................................12

Table 5: Status of finalization of cases of the top ten provincial departments with the highest

number of grievances................................................................................................................14

2

1. Introduction and Background

In terms of Rule 19(4) of the Public Service Commission (PSC) Rules on Referral and

Investigation of Grievances of Employees in Public Service, which were published in Government

Gazette No 40359 dated 21 October 2016, “PSC Grievance Rules”, Heads of Department must

ensure that grievance resolution is evaluated by maintaining a record of the number of grievances

resolved from the beginning of each calendar year and report to the PSC on a six monthly basis.

In order to remind Heads of Department to forward their reporting on the management of

grievances to the PSC, a Circular dated 30 August 2017 was forwarded to all departments.

Based on the reporting by departments, this Technical Brief was drafted with the aim of providing

an overview in respect of the number of grievances reported by departments for the period 01

April 2017 until 30 September 2017 against the previous reporting period of 01 October 2016 until

31 March 2017.

2. Statistical Overview

2.1 Total number of grievances reported by national and provincial departments

For the reporting period 01 April 2017 to 30 September 2017, a total of 4436 grievances

were reported by national and provincial departments, which is an increase of 4.2% from

the total of 4257 grievances reported for the previous reporting period of 01 October 2016

to 31 March 2017. Figure 1 depicts the total number of grievances reported by national

and provincial departments for the two reporting periods.

Figure 1: Comparison of the total number of grievances reported by national and provincial departments

In so far as national departments are concerned, there is a decrease of 1.8% in the total

number of grievances reported for the current reporting period, which is a total of 1858 as

opposed to 1892 for the previous reporting period. Provincial departments reported a 9%

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

National Provincial Total

1892

2365

4257

1858

2578

4436

01 Oct 2016 to 31 Mar 2017 01 April 2017 to 30 Sept 2017

3

increase in the total number of grievances received for the current reporting period as

2578 were received compared to 2365 from the previous reporting period.

National and provincial departments reported a total of 103 collective grievances for the

current reporting period, which is an increase of 3% in comparison with the total of 100

collective grievances received in the previous reporting period. Figure 2 below shows the

total number of collective grievances reported for the two reporting periods.

Figure 2: Collective grievances reported by national and provincial departments

National departments reported a total of 76 grievances which is an increase of 28.8% from

59 grievances that were received in the previous reporting period. Provincial departments

recorded a decrease of 34.1% from a total of 41 to 27 grievances, over the current

reporting period.

Table 1 below, depicts a detailed breakdown in respect of the number of collective

grievances reported by specific national and provincial departments for the current

reporting period only.

Table 1: Number of collective grievances reported per national and provincial departments

National/Provincial Department

Name of department Number of collective grievances

National Correctional Services 35

Planning and Monitoring Evaluation 1

Energy 2

Higher Education and Training 1

Mineral Resources 1

SAPS 33

Presidency 1

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Total National Provincial

100

59

41

103

76

27

01 Oct 2016 to 31 Mar 2017 01 April 2017 to 30 Sept 2017

4

National/Provincial Department

Name of department Number of collective grievances

Statistics SA 2

Free State Health 1

Social Development 4

Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation 1

Gauteng Community Safety 4

Treasury 1

KwaZulu-Natal Education 4

Limpopo Agriculture 7

Public Works, Roads & Infrastructure 1

Education 1

Mpumalanga Culture Sport and Recreation 1

Northern Cape Officer of the Premier 1

North West Public Works and Roads 1

Total 103

The Department of Correctional Services reported the highest number of collective

grievances (35), followed by the South African Police Service (SAPS) with a total of 33

collective grievances. The Limpopo Department of Agriculture reported the third highest

number of collective grievances (7). As the reporting by departments on collective

grievances do not provide the details of individuals, the PSC will develop a separate

reporting template for the departments to provide the details of the individuals that are

included in the collective grievance. This will help the PSC to provide advice to the

departments on how these cases should be dealt with.

2.2 Reporting of grievances by national departments

National departments reported a total of 1858 grievances inclusive of collective grievances

for the current reporting period. Figure 3 provides an overview in respect of the top ten

national departments that reported the highest number of grievances.

Figure 3: Top ten national departments

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Correctional Services

SAPS

Water and Sanitation

Justice a and Constitutional Development

Labour

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Rural Development and Land Reform

Home Affairs

Public Works

522

487

243

117

109

45

41

36

32

5

The Department of Correctional Services reported the highest number of grievances for

the current reporting period at a total number of 522 grievances. This is an increase of

8.5% from the total of 481 cases reported in the previous reporting period. The South

African Police Service follows with a total number of 487 grievances which is an increase

of 37.9% from the total of 353 cases reported in the previous reporting period. The

Department of Water and Sanitation reported the third highest number of grievances with

243 for the current period, which is an increase of 636.3 % from the total of 33 cases

reported in the previous reporting period. This is due to 172 cases relating to the upgrading

of salaries for Security Officers, General Workers and Messengers/Drivers at level 2-4.

Table 2 below provides an overview in respect of the number of grievance cases reported

by each national department during the reporting period in comparison with the previous

reporting period, including collective grievances.

Table 2: Number of grievances reported by national departments

Department Number of grievances

01 October 2016 to 31

March 2017

Number of grievances

01 April 2017 to 30

September 2017

Agriculture, Forestry and

Fisheries

45 45

Arts and Culture 3 0

Basic Education 2 0

Civilian Secretariat for Police 2 2

Communications 0 1

Cooperative Governance 3 2

Correctional Services 481 522

Defence 276 Not submitted

DPSA 7 12

Economic Development 4 4

Energy 14 10

Environmental Affairs 12 18

GCIS 0 5

Government Printing Works 15 10

Government Pensions

Administration Agency

5 30

Health 48 6

Higher Education and

Training

40 10

Home Affairs 37 36

Human Settlements 7 4

International Relations and

Cooperation

5 5

IPID 6 5

Justice and Constitutional

Development

153 117

6

Department Number of grievances

01 October 2016 to 31

March 2017

Number of grievances

01 April 2017 to 30

September 2017

Labour 118 109

Military Veterans Not submitted 12

Mineral Resources 8 10

National School of

Government

2 2

National Treasury 9 3

OPSC 1 3

Office of the Chief Justice 10 4

Planning, Monitoring and

Evaluation

3 5

Public Enterprises 0 0

Public Works 42 32

Rural Development and Land

Reform

60 41

SAPS 353 487

Science and Technology 2 0

Social Development 2 1

Small Business Development 3 3

Sport and Recreation SA 0 0

Statistics South Africa 20 14

Telecommunications and

Postal Services

4 3

The Presidency 7 5

Tourism 5 4

Trade and Industry 35 22

Traditional Affairs 0 Not submitted

Transport 5 6

Water and Sanitation 33 243

Women 5 3

Scrutiny of Table 2 indicates that 5 departments reported zero (0) number of cases for

the current reporting period, namely -

Arts and Culture

Basic Education

Public Enterprises

Sport and Recreation SA

Science and Technology

A total of 21 departments reported between 1 and 9 cases whereas 8 departments

reported between 10 and 20 cases.

7

The Departments of Defence and Traditional Affairs did not submit their reports despite

numerous follow up from the PSC.

2.3 Reporting of grievances by provinces

Provincial departments reported a total of 2578 cases for the current reporting period as

opposed to 2365 for the previous reporting period which is an increase of 9%. Figure 4

below provides an exposition of the number of grievances reported per province.

Figure 4: Number of grievances reported by provinces

As can be seen from the above figure, the Gauteng Province reported the highest number

of grievances for the reporting period, 698. This is an increase of 14.9% from the total of

607 cases reported for the previous reporting period.

The KwaZulu-Natal Province reported the second highest number of grievances for the

reporting period, 396 which in comparison with the previous reporting period where a total

of 342 cases were reported, indicates an increase of 15.7% in the number of cases.

The Limpopo Province reported the third highest number of grievances for the reporting

period, with a total of 301 cases. Contrary to the first two provinces, the total number of

grievances in respect of this province decreased with 11.7% from the 341 cases reported

for the previous reporting period.

Figure 5 below provides an overview in respect of the top ten provincial departments that

reported the highest number of grievances across the 9 provinces. The Gauteng

Department of Education registered the highest number of grievances at a total of 284,

followed by Gauteng Provincial Department of Health with 258 grievances registered for

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000

Eastern Cape

Free State

Gauteng

Kwazulu-Natal

Limpopo

Mpumalanga

Northern Cape

North West

Western Cape

Total

157

203

698

396

301

265

132

199

227

2578

80

209

607

342

341

202

137

142

305

2365

01 Oct 2016 to 31 Mar 2017 01 April 2017 to 30 Sept 2017

8

the current reporting period. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health reported the third

highest number of grievances, which is 183. It is also noted that the department of Health

reported the highest number of grievances in 5 provinces.

Figure 5: Top ten provincial departments

Table 3 below indicates those provincial departments that reported nil grievances for the

period 01 April 2017 to 30 September 2017.

Table 3: Nil grievances reported by provincial departments

Name of Province Department

Mpumalanga Provincial Treasury

Economic Development and Tourism

Officer of the Premier

KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

Sport and Recreation

Northern Cape Environmental Affairs and Developmental Planning

Eastern Cape Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture

Safety and Liaison

2.4 Nature of grievances: national and provincial departments

Grievances reported by departments are classified into seven different categories. Figure

6 below provides an overview in respect of the number of grievances lodged per category.

Contrary to the previous reporting period where grievances relating to unfair treatment

were the highest, grievances relating to salary problems are the highest for the current

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

GP Education

GP Health

KZN Health

FS Health

KZN Education

MP Education

WC Health

MP Public Works and Transport

EC Health

LP Social Development

284

258

183

135

123

111

91

89

83

65

9

reporting period with a total of 1249 cases. The total number of grievance cases relating

to salary problems increased by 24.6% from the total of 1002 reported in the previous

reporting period. The second highest number of grievances reported relates to unfair

treatment with a total of 958 cases, reflecting a decrease of 12.8% from the 1099 cases

reported for the previous reporting period. Grievances relating to performance

management rate the third highest with a total of 897 cases, reflecting a decrease of 3.1%

from the 926 cases reported for the previous reporting period. Grievances relating to the

filling of posts constitute the fourth highest category with a total number of 634 cases,

depicting an increase of 3% from the 615 cases reported for the previous reporting period.

Figure 6: Comparison in respect of the nature of grievances: national and provincial departments

2.5 Number of grievances lodged per race: national and provincial departments

African employees lodged the highest number of grievances during the current reporting

period, with a total of 3268 cases, depicting an increase of 4.8% from the 3117 cases

reported during the previous reporting period.

The second highest number of grievances were lodged by Coloured employees with a

total of 453, which shows a decrease of 17.5% compared to 546 cases reported during

the previous reporting period. The third highest number of grievances for the period were

lodged by White employees at 388, which is a decrease of 9.9% from the 431 cases

reported for the previous reporting period.

Indian employees lodged a total of 184 cases, reflecting an increase of 73.5% from the

106 cases reported for the previous reporting period. In respect of the collective

grievances lodged, a total number of 103 cases does not reflect the racial profile of the

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

Performance Management

Salary Problems

Unfair Treatment

Filing of post

Refusal to approve application

Disciplinary matters

Undermining Authority

Unknown

Total

897

1249

958

634

614

31

2

51

4436

926

1002

1099

615

542

41

28

4

4257

01 Oct 2016 to 31 Mar 2017 01 April 2017 to 30 Sept 2017

10

employees. Similarly, in 40 cases the departments did not indicate the racial profiles of

the aggrieved employees.

Figure 7 below provides an overview in respect of the number of grievances lodged per

race group.

Figure 7: Number of grievances per race: national and provincial departments

2.6 Number of grievances per gender: national and provincial departments

Figure 8 below provides an overview in respect of the gender classification of employees

that lodged grievances. Male employees lodged a total of 2326 (52.4%) grievances and

female employees lodged a total of 1992 (44.9%) grievances for the current reporting

period. In respect of a total of 103 (2.3%) collective grievances and 15 (0.03%) cases, the

gender was not reflected.

Figure 8: Percentage of grievances lodged per gender: national and provincial departments

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500

African

Coloured

Indian

White

Collective

Unknown

Total

3268

453

184

388

103

40

4436

3117

546

106

431

50

7

4257

01 Oct 2016 to 31 Mar 2017 01 April 2017 to 30 Sept 2017

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Male Female Collective Unknown

2326

1992

10315

11

2.7 Number of grievances per salary level: national and provincial departments

Grievances lodged by employees on salary level 1-8 increased by 10.1% from the total of

2908 grievances reported during the previous reporting period to 3202 reported during the

current reporting period. The number of grievances lodged by employees on salary levels

9 – 10, decreased with 14.4% from 628 lodged during the previous reporting period, to

537 lodged during the current reporting period. Similarly with grievances lodged by

employees on salary levels 11 -12, the total number of grievances decreased with 4.4%

from 363 cases lodged during the previous reporting period, to 347 cases lodged during

the current reporting period. The number of grievances lodged by Senior Management

Service (SMS) members reflects an increase of 34.3% from 64 cases reported during the

previous reporting period to 86 cases for the current reporting period. Figure 9 below,

provides a comparison in respect of salary levels of aggrieved employees.

Figure 9: Comparison in respect of salary levels of aggrieved employees: national and provincial departments

2.8 Status of finalisation of cases in terms of prescribed timeframes

In terms of the provisions of the Grievance Rules, 2003 and Chapter Ten of the SMS

Handbook on the Rules for dealing with grievances of SMS members, a grievance of an

employee/member should be dealt with by the department within a period of 30 and 45

working days, respectively. This period may be extended on mutual agreement between

the department and the aggrieved employees. Figure 10 provides an overview in respect

of the status of cases reported by national and provincial departments.

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

Level 1-8

Level 9-10

Level 11-12

Level 13-15

Collective

Unknown

Total

3202

537

347

86

103

161

4436

2908

628

363

64

69

225

4257

01 Oct 2016 to 31 Mar 2017 01 Apr 2017 to 30 Sept 2017

12

Figure 10: Status of finalisation of cases in terms of prescribed timeframes

As can be seen from the above figure, 1614 (36%) of the 4436 cases reported by national

and provincial departments were finalised within the prescribed timeframes of 30/45 days.

795 (18%) of the cases were finalised outside the prescribed timeframes. 2004 (45%) of

the cases remained pending as at the end of the reporting period. In terms of 23 (1%)

cases which were indicated as unknown, the departments reported contradictory dates of

the dates received and the dates finalised in that the dates finalised were earlier than the

dates received.

A breakdown of the status of cases in respect of the top ten national departments reflected

in Figure 3, under section 2.2 above, is provided in Table 4 below:

Table 4: Status of finalisation of cases of the top ten national departments with the highest number of grievances

Name of

Department

Total no

of cases

Total no

of

finalised

cases

Finalised

within the

timeframe

Finalised

outside

timeframe

Pending Finalised date

not provided

Correctional

Services

522 346

(66.2%)

214

(61.8%)

132 (38.1%) 176

(33.7%)

0

SAPS 487 365

(74.9%)

229

(62.7%)

136 (37.2%) 122 (25%) 0

Water and

Sanitation

243

35

(14.4%)

21 (60%) 14 (40%) 208

(85.5%)

0

Justice and

Constitutional

Development

117 57(48.7

%)

22

(38.5%)

35 (61.4%) 60

(51.2%)

0

Labour 109 37

(33.9%)

31

(83.7%)

6 (16.2%) 72 (66%) 0

Agriculture,

Forestry and

Fisheries

45 13

(28.8%)

7 (53.8%) 6 (46.1%) 32

(71.1%)

0

Rural

Development

and Land

Reform*

41 12

(29.2%)

8 (66.6%) 3 (25%) 29

(70.7%)

1(8.3%)

1614 (36%)

795 (18%)

2004 (45%)

23 (1%)

Finalised within timeframe

Finalised outside timeframe

Pending

Unknown

13

Name of

Department

Total no

of cases

Total no

of

finalised

cases

Finalised

within the

timeframe

Finalised

outside

timeframe

Pending Finalised date

not provided

Home Affairs* 36 19

(52.7)

12

(63.1%)

6 (31.5%) 17

(47.2%)

1(5.2%)

Public Works 32 20

(62.5%)

12 (60%) 8 (40%) 12

(37.5%)

0

Government

Pensions

Administration

Agency

30 19

(63.3%)

1 (5.2%) 18 (94.7%) 11

(36.6%)

0

*The Departments of Rural Development and Land Reform and Home Affairs did provide dates finalised in

respect of one of their cases.

Cases finalised within the prescribed timeframe

The Department of Labour reported the highest percentage of cases finalised within the

prescribed timeframe (83.7%), which is 31 out of 37 concluded cases. The Department of

Rural Development and Land Reform reported the second highest percentage of cases

finalised within the prescribed timeframe (66.6%) which is 8 out of 12 concluded cases.

The Department of Home Affairs reported the third highest percentage of cases finalised

within the prescribed time frame (63.1%) which is 12 out of 19 concluded cases.

Cases finalised outside the prescribed timeframe

The Government Pensions Administration Agency recorded the highest percentage of

cases that were finalised outside the timeframe (94.7%). Of the 19 cases that were

finalized, only 1 case was finalised within the prescribed timeframe whereas 18 cases

were finalised outside the timeframe. The Department of Justice and Constitutional

Development reported the second highest percentage (61.4%) of cases finalised outside

the timeframe in that 35 cases out 57 cases were finalised outside the timeframe. The

Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries recorded the third highest percentage

(46.1%) of cases that were finalised outside the timeframe since 6 out 13 finalised cases,

were finalised outside the prescribed timeframe.

Pending cases

The Department of Water and Sanitation reported the highest percentage of pending

cases which is 85.5%. A total of 208 out of 243 cases were still pending at the time of

reporting. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported the second

highest percentage of pending cases which is 71.1%. A total of 32 out of 45 cases were

still pending for the current period. The Department of Rural Development and Land

Reform reported the third highest percentage of pending cases (70.7%), which amounts

to 29 cases of the total of 41 cases reported for the current reporting period.

A breakdown of the status of cases in respect of the top ten provincial departments

reflected in Figure 5 under section 2.3 above, is provided in Table 5 below.

14

Table 5: Status of finalization of cases of the top ten provincial departments with the highest number of grievances

Name of

Department

Total

no of

cases

Total no

of

finalised

cases

Finalised

within the

timeframe

Finalised

outside

timeframe

Pending Cases with

contradictory

dates

GP:

Education*

284 209

(73.5%)

156

(74.6%)

51(24.4%) 75 (26.4%) 2 (0.95%)

GP Health 258 198

(76.7%)

171

(86.3%)

27 (13.6%) 60 (23.2%) 0

KZN: Health* 183 100

(54.6%)

67 (67%) 32 (32%) 83 (45.3%) 1(1%)

FS: Health 136 29

(21.3%)

25 (86.2%) 4 (13.7%) 107(78.6%) 0

KZN:

Education

127 114

(89.7%)

41 (35.9%) 73 (64%) 13 (10.2%) 0

MP:

Education*

111 91(81.9%) 69 (75.8%) 19 (20.8%) 20 (18%) 3 (3.2%)

WC: Health 91 72

(79.1%)

49 (68%) 23 (31.9%) 19 (20.8%) 0

MP: Public

Works and

Transport*

89 59

(66.2%)

38 (64.4%) 20 (33.8%) 30 (33.7%) 1 (1.6)

EC: Health 83 32

(38.5%)

27 (84.3%) 5 (15.6%) 51(61.4%) 0

LMP: Social

Development

65 0 (0%) 0 0 65 (100%) 0

*The following departments reported contradictory dates of received and finalised grievances in that the dates

finalised are earlier than the dates of receipt: GP Education, KZN Health, MP Education and MP Public Works

and Transport.

Cases finalised within the prescribed timeframe

The Gauteng Department of Health recorded the highest percentage of cases finalised

within the prescribed time frames by 86.3%, which is 171 out of 198 concluded cases. The

Free State Department of Health recorded the second highest percentage of cases

finalised within the prescribed time frames by 86.2%, which is 25 out of 29 concluded

cases. The Eastern Cape Department of Health recorded the third highest percentage of

cases finalised within the prescribed time frame by 84.3%, which is 27 out of 32 concluded

cases.

Cases finalised outside the timeframe

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education reported the highest percentage of cases

finalised outside the prescribed timeframe by 64%, which is 73 out of 114 concluded cases

outside the prescribed timeframe. The Mpumalanga Department of Public Works and

15

Transport reported the second highest percentage of cases finalised outside the

prescribed timeframe by 33.8%, which is 20 out of 59 concluded cases. The KwaZulu-

Natal Department of Health reported the third highest percentage of cases finalised

outside the prescribed timeframe by 32%, which is 32 out of 100 concluded cases.

Pending cases

The fact that in some departments a high number of grievances remain pending is noted

with concern. The Limpopo Department of Social Development did not finalise any of their

cases and thus reported a total of 65 cases as pending, which amounts to 100%. The Free

State Department of Health reported the second highest percentage of pending cases

(78.6%), which means that of the 136 reported cases, 107 cases remain pending. The

Eastern Cape Department of Health reported the third highest percentage with a total of

51 (61.4%) pending cases out of 83 received cases.

3 Conclusion

The reporting of collective grievances remains problematic and result in a skewed

reporting with regard to gender, race, salary levels as well as total number of affected

employees in cases where the department only indicates one person and others instead

of the total of cases. The number of cases might be higher if the departments had provided

details of the individual cases. One example is a case where 108 employees lodged a

collective grievance. This grievance is counted as one collective grievance. Furthermore,

lodging collective grievances result in different behaviour patterns in that people react

differently from different situations. It would be advisable for each grievance to be attended

differently. Once again, the delay by departments to finalise grievances within the

prescribed timeframe is a concern. Delaying the resolution of grievances may result in

labour unrest, especially if the rising number in respect of grievances relating to salary

related problems is considered. These trends will be considered further in the Fact Sheet

on grievance resolution for the 2017/18 financial year.