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The Provincial Department of Local Government wasted 23 years in staff sick days during the 2010\/11 financial year.<\/p>\n
In response to a parliamentary question I asked in this regard we were informed that 5 484 lost days for sick leave at a cost of R4,5 million was incurred by the department.<\/p>\n
This must beg the question if employees are not taking unnecessary sick leave as an employment perk!<\/p>\n
Of further concern is that 576 employees or 37% of the staff complement of the department took sick leave in that year.<\/p>\n
Clearly there are serious underlying domestic and social causes to this, of which stress, as stated in the reply, plays a big role.<\/p>\n
If one estimates that the average employee works a 22 day month for 11 months of a calendar year, then this equates to a loss of 23 years working days in a single year.<\/p>\n
This state of affairs is unacceptable.<\/p>\n
I will be requesting at portfolio committee level that sick leave statistics are reported so as to monitor such behaviour.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, I will be requesting that the portfolio committee ask the department to explain in a report what sick leave, wellness and stress relief measures are in place to assist staff in the department to mitigate against such high incidents of sick leave.<\/p>\n
It would appear that whatever aids are in place to assist staff with stress and other related conditions need to be beefed up.<\/p>\n
The Democratic Alliance believes that a holistic approach to wellness and sick management needs to become a priority of all employees of every provincial department to ensure that our valued employees can feel well and work effectively in a healthy environment.<\/p>\n