SowetanLive reports that with four weeks left before the G4S contract at the infamous Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC) comes to an end, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) is fighting to have more than 500 employees absorbed by the state.

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has been in talks with the union, which represents more than 90% of the 507 workers at the Free State facility. A further meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday to discuss the future of these workers. The department is faced with understaffing at its prisons, but absorbing the Mangaung workers would come with risks as it would have to match their salaries, which are higher than the wages of prison wardens at other facilities. Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said the union has been fighting to save the jobs of the workers ahead of the 31 July deadline when G4S is expected to vacate the prison to make way for DCS to totally take over. “Our priority right now is save our members’ jobs and the discussion about financial implications to the department when they have hired the G4S workers will be discussed at a later stage once we have reached an agreement,” said Mamabolo. However, the DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach, who sits on the portfolio committee on Justice and Correctional Services, said the G4S officials should not be retained without being vetted. DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo did not want to disclose his department’s future plans with G4S employees, saying an announcement would be made in due course.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lindile Sifile & Noxolo Sibiya at SowetanLive

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