Today's Labour News

The Star reports that the SA Black and Technical Careers Organisation (SABTCO), which represents black engineers, says it is shocked by the outrageous salaries that the SA government is paying Cuban engineers.

This came after trade union Solidarity discovered that the Cuban engineers would each make R1-million a year, and that they would be making more money than the average SA engineer who could do the same work. Part of the remuneration includes extensive fringe benefits such as flight tickets for holidays to Cuba, furnished accommodation, food and telephone costs. “We were never consulted on this, no engineering structure was consulted. If this is a political thing they must just tell us because this makes no sense,” said Solly Mabuza, secretary-general of SABTCO. He reported that the organisation had written to the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, seeking an explanation on the matter. Mabuza said SA engineers were recognised as among the best in the world. He added that the employment of the Cuban engineers was an insult to many black engineers who were sitting without jobs. Mabuza also pointed out that black engineers were willing to work anywhere: “They can’t say that we don’t want to stay in rural areas. We are from those rural places so they can’t say we don’t have expertise or we don’t want to work there.” The organisation said it was planning to organise African engineers and eventually launch a trade union that would represent engineers.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Itumeleng Mafisa at The Star
• See too, Solidariteit ‘xenofobies, bitter’ oor Kubane – regering, at Maroela Media

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