News24 reports that the Northern Cape Department of Education is working on resolving the issue of teacher assistants and general workers not having been paid for three months.

According to the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), substitute and temporary teachers as well as screeners and cleaners were the ones most affected. The department said reasons for the delays were due to pressures the sector was experiencing amid the Covid-19 pandemic. It added the need for cleaners and screeners at schools remained critical long after their initial period of employment, which resulted in the department having to reprioritise its budget. The Presidential Youth Employment Initiative that catered for the assistants ended earlier this year and the department took a decision to take over and pay them from its own budget. The workers were deployed to schools to ensure Covid-19 safety protocols were followed. Northern Cape education department spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said another matter which impacted the department was the number of teachers who needed to be substituted or replaced, and in other cases, where temporary teachers were needed. He said the department had engaged the provincial treasury on the matter and the latter had released funds for it to fill posts and pay outstanding salaries. He indicated that the affected staff members would be paid soon.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sesona Ngqakamba at News24

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