Africa-Press – South-Africa. Some field workers, who were part of Census 2022, say they are suffering because they have not been paid.
Thando Mvubu, 28, a field worker, said she tried numerous times to get hold of Stats South Africa, but she was placed on hold or told she was not on the system.
“After calling them, they tell us they will pay us the following day, which ends up turning into a week. Some of my team members have not received a cent from Stats SA,” Mvubu said.
Mvubu said one of her teammates signed a contract and had worked for several months, only to be told she was not on the system.
“I’ve worked under two contracts and I have not received anything, as yet. Although Stats SA promised that I will get paid after 10 days when the contract expires… I am still waiting,” Mvubu said.
The disheartened worker said she had made plans for her money, including enrolling for a course at Unisa.
She said:
“Stats SA has failed me, all I need is my money. They need to pay people. I am depressed right now and I can barely sleep. It is wrong what they are doing to the youth of South Africa,” Mvubu said.
Some field workers shared on social media that they could not attend their graduation ceremonies because of the delayed payments.
Lehutso Mogoru, 23, also a field worker, expressed similar concerns and said it was disappointing to not be able to assist with finances at home.
Mogoru was planning on using some of the money to do a short course.
“The Stats department is not organised. We did not sign the contracts before the first day of working and the contracts were sent a few days after, that is when people started to work,” Mogoru said.
“We worked hard for the entire three months. It is now tough because I can’t buy even maize meal… some people are depressed and hurt because we worked very hard and there’s nothing to show.”
A spokesperson for Stats SA, Trevor Oosterwyk, told News24 that some employees had been paid.
“The workers need to ensure that all their details are correct and, if they did, they should be receiving their payments. I can confirm that 90% of employees have been paid and there are a few outstanding payments,” Oosterwyk said.
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