Numsa National Spokesperson
NUMSA Spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi Majola
Mathipa Phishego
The National Union of Metalworkers South Africa (NUMSA) had planned to march against the Chief Executive Officer of the Road Accident Fund (RAF), Collins Letsoalo, calling for his dismissal. However, the planned strike was interrupted by a court interdict obtained by the RAF. NUMSA was informed about the interdict after 9:00 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, and was forced to comply with the orders even though they were not properly served. In response, NUMSA issued a press release notifying its members to report to work following the court’s interdict.
NUMSA had accused Letsoalo of mismanaging the office since his appointment at the Department of Transport. It is claimed that since his appointment, the entity has been failing to pay claimants in time, not paying claimants, and having furniture taken by sheriffs from East London offices. The entity is under immense financial stress due to heavy debt, which has resulted in several complaints from claimants. Letsoalo, however, claims that he is cleaning RAF from dodgy advocates who have been milking the institution for years.
NUMSA’s National Spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, says that Letsoalo is restructuring the organization outside of Section 189 processes that are governed by the Labour Relations Act. According to NUMSA, this restructuring will leave many workers redundant and retrenched. The march was planned to take place at the National Department of Transport in Pretoria to submit their demands attached to a memorandum, which was meant for the Minister of Transport Sindiswa Chikunga, outlining the list of problems.
NUMSA members engaging in an industrial action as a demonstration of their demands.
RAF Head of Communications, Mcintosh Polela, responded to NUMSA’s allegations by stating that an attack on the CEO is unwarranted and unfortunate. RAF is not a one-man show; it’s an organization, and it is therefore disingenuous to attack one person. Polela added that changes were underway at the entity as part of the 2024/25 strategy to turn around the entity, and these changes were approved by the board and the Department of Transport.
Despite the interdict, NUMSA remains committed to exposing the mismanagement at RAF and Collins Letsoalo.
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