KNYSNA NEWS – On Wednesday 26 July, staff members at Vermont Old Age Home halted work to hold a protest after their salaries have not been paid. Staff say they had not been notified ahead about the non-payment. Staff at the old age centre have previously faced discrepancies in their pay due to administrative issues.
"We at Vermont are working with the best we can under the conditions," said Vermont Centre shop stewardess, Mugeleine Plaatjies on Thursday 27 July.
"We have to care for the residents here but our salaries have not been paid in, meaning we cannot take care of our own families. We were all unaware of this, but were told by our employers that we would be paid by the end of the business day. It is a day later and staff have still not been paid. We want to know what's going on."
Delays in staff payment are linked to administrative problems due to the previous board of the centre failing to hand over to the newly elected board and thus impacting the finances of the centre, according to current Vermont board member Mark Stevens.
He also explained that any financial resolutions need to be approved by the Department of Social Development (DSD).
Vermont staff are refusing to continue work operations until they have been paid and have stated that they only wish to deal with the current elected board.
"The staff are unhappy, we are calling for the old board to step down immediately and effectively hand over to the new board," said Plaatjies. "We want to know when we will be paid and why we were not told this would happen. The staff at Vermont are passionate about caring for the elderly and want to continue our service to the residents," Plaatjies added.
John Bouwer, previous board member of Vermont Old Age Home, said that the situation at Vermont is an administrative issue that the administration needs to attend to.
"All documents and files were withheld, which contain quarterly reports which needed to be submitted to DSD in April already," he said. "Therefore DSD did not process any funding for salaries. The documents were submitted yesterday."
A union representative for Vermont staff has been informed on the matter and is mediating on behalf of the staff.
The staff and current board members of Vermont wish to be transparent on matters pertaining to the management of the old age centre and call upon the public’s support during this time.
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