After nine months since the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was elected into Parliament, the party is already facing a revolt as junior staff accuse it of violating employee rights and have turned to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
The City Press is reporting that staff have accused the party of, among other things, failing to register workers and pay their contributions over to the Unemployment Insurance Fund and failing to hand Pay As You Earn tax deductions to the South African Revenue Service.
It says despite the workers having formal contracts and payslips reflecting deductions the party insists they were mere volunteers and are not entitled to the same rights as employees.
About 20 of the party’s staff members from various provinces have approached the Labour Department and the CCMA claiming they are being robbed.
Most of the dismissed workers were employed in one of the party's 54 constituency offices throughout the country.
Weekend reports suggest their contracts started in July last year and were supposed to run until the end of the current Parliamentary term which is in 2019.
Party leader Julius Malema called them to a meeting where they were told the party had no choice but to retrench them.
In most cases staff were apparently dismissed verbally with only one week's notice.
Meanwhile, the EFF has expelled three of its Members of Parliament.
Andile Mngxitama, Mpho Ramakatsa and Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala were all expelled yesterday for breaching the party's code of conduct.
Earlier this year, the three held a press conference where they accused EFF leader Julius Malema and other senior members of misappropriating party funds.
The party says the three were found unfit to continue representing voters in Parliament.
The EFF also said the three were dismissed because they did not participate in their own disciplinary hearings to account for their actions.
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