Sunday Tribune reports that while the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has managed to create 10,000 job opportunities for unemployed youth who will take part in the three-year digitisation project, the salaries offered have raised eyebrows.

Graduates in possession of a master's degree will earn a gross monthly salary of up to R14,250 for a management position while those with diplomas will earn R5,000, according to the advertised posts. Those who hold degrees will earn R6,000 to R6,500 while those with an honours degree will earn R9,500. The duties for the lower earners will include the retrieval of files, sorting, and listing among them. The middle earners, namely the honours degree holders, will perform supervision of day-to-day activities, manage performance and provide daily and weekly reports. The top earners will manage and lead the teams. Job seekers took to social media where the posts were advertised to vent their frustration about the pay. In comparison with the normal government pay, the offers were relatively low. For example, an administrative job that includes duties similar to those who will be doing administration pays R191,000 per annum, which translates to a gross salary of R15,000 per month. Supervisors and middle managers can earn up to R300,000 per annum, while top managers earn over R600,000 per annum. SA Federation of Trade Unions spokesperson Trevor Shaku said while they welcomed the job creation, they were worried about the payment, which was below the living wage of R17 per hour or R12,500 per month.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siboniso Mngadi at Sunday Tribune

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page