Moloko Moloto
A LIMPOPO MEC locked out government officials who arrived late for work yesterday.
MEC for Public Works Thabitha Mohlala stepped out of her plush office to close the door in the face of those who came in after 7.30am.
About 50 employees who arrived after the door was closed loitered outside the department building in Polokwane.
Those locked out said senior managers and a general manager had also been barred.
The government employees chanted Struggle songs outside the building. They blamed the department for not informing them about the decision to lock the door. “They should have circulated a memo so that we could have been made aware,” said one employee.
The door was unlocked later, but the workers still refused to report for duty.
They demanded that Mohlala and the head of the department address them before they went in.
Nthabiseng Boya, the department’s spokeswoman, said all employees should be at work by 7.30am.
“We are dealing with adults and we are hopeful that people will realise the importance of timekeeping,” she said.