Sunday Independent reports that lawyers working at the offices of Legal Aid SA in central Johannesburg say being at work poses a threat to their well-being because they fear being attacked by disgruntled clients who have lost their cases.
They say they have no security at the premises and some of their colleagues have come under attack in their offices. Last week Sunday Independent visited one of the offices in Fox Street, Johannesburg, and found no security guards to take details of the visitors. Visitors were not searched at the entrance before making their way through to the reception. An agent for the owners of the building said companies with a public interface such as Legal Aid should arrange their own security personnel at their entrance. On Wednesday, lawyers across the country submitted a memorandum to the national office in Braamfontein during a protest against bad working conditions and lack of security at work, as well as changes to the group life cover policy. Employee Andile Mavatha observed: “Some clients visit our local offices in possession of weapons such as firearms and so forth. There have been incidents where employees were exposed to physical and verbal abuse at their respective local offices.” Mavatha claimed national officials were aware of the danger they were facing, but did nothing to mitigate it. Legal Aid SA has undertaken to urgently investigate offices that were most vulnerable and implement corrective measures to improve security, “albeit without making them fortresses that would be inaccessible to the public.”
- Read the full original of Manyane Manyane’s report in the above regard at Sunday Independent
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