Question no

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 JUNE 2008

Mr J H van der Merwe (IFP) to ask the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) (a) What are the reasons for the delay in the approval of funding and salary determination of the Legal Aid Board (LAB) for Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) of legal professionals since the adoption of Resolution 1 of 2007 and (b) when will the OSD be extended to LAB employees;

(2) whether it will be implemented, if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1715E

REPLY

(1)(a) The final agreement for the sectoral OSD on legal professionals was signed by both government and the majority of trade unions on Friday, 4 April 2008.

On 6 May 2008, I received the OSD agreement from the Minister of Public Service. My department is currently formulating a Treasury Memorandum with full details pertaining to estimates for OSD funding requirements covering 01 July 2007 over the MTEF period for employees of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Legal Aid Board and National Prosecuting Authority.

(b) The OSD agreement will be extended to the LAB employees once all the funding requirements have been fully addressed and the National Treasury has approved any allocations or transfers from the existing DoJ budget allocations.

This will then provide the legal basis for the transfer of funds to the LAB which will in turn effect payments for its employees.

(2) The OSD for legal professionals will be implemented once the full funding requirements have been acquired.

QUESTION NO.: 981

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 JUNE 2008

Mr J H van der Merwe (IFP) to ask the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether the danger pay allowance, determined for employees working with prisoners in terms of Resolution 1 of 2007, can be applied to employees of the Legal Aid Board; if not, what are the relevant details; if so,

(2) whether a determination is required as with the Occupational Specific Dispensation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1716E

REPLY
(1) No, Annexure K to the DPSA Circular 1 of 2007 provides for the employer to pay the Standard Danger Allowance to an employee who in the course of her or his employment experiences a genuine risk to her or his life and who is employed in specific occupational categories and identified areas of work, including traffic, correctional services, and educationists working with prisoners. Legal Aid Board (LAB) employees are not listed in the categories and identified areas.

The Annexure K further provides for employer to pay Special Danger Allowance to an employee who works in the Department of Correctional Services.

Should a need arise for the LAB staff to conduct interviews or otherwise deal with inmates , in this case paralegals or lawyers, they are always under the guard of and accompanied by correctional officers.
(2) No. No determination in this regard is required. The OSD for legal professionals include lawyers in the LAB, prosecutors in the NPA and other legal professionals in government departments. The OSD for legal professionals does not include categories and indentified areas of Annexure K to the DPSA Circular 1 0f 2007 as stated under (1) above.

QUESTION NO.: 982

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13 JUNE 2008

Mr J H van der Merwe (IFP) to ask the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether the medical aid allowance determined for the Government Employees Medical Scheme can be applied to Legal Aid Board members so that proper alignment of benefits in the justice cluster can be attained; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether she will require a determination similar to the one of the Occupational Specific Dispensation in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1717E

REPLY
(1) No. The Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) only provides a medical allowance for employees of national departments, provincial administrations, provincial departments and organisational components contemplated in section 7(2) of the Public Service Act 1994 (these include STATS SA, Independent Complaints Directorate as well as Sport and Recreation South Africa).
In response to the LAB’s application to be a participating employer in GEMS, the Board of Trustees of GEMS has not approved the application as the LAB is a public entity.

(2) No. The Occupational Specific Dispensation for legal professionals addresses salary progressions and career pathing and does not include additional benefits to employees.

No determination in this regard is required. The LAB has, in terms of its policies, other employee benefits such as insurance group scheme applicable only to its employees
QUESTION NO: 984
MR, J SELFE (DA) TO ASK THE MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES:

Whether his department placed an advert in a certain newspaper (Sunday Times) on 8 June 2008; if not, what are the relevant details; if so, (a) which newspapers, (b) what was the total cost of placing the adverts and (c) what was the purpose of placing the advert?

REPLY

Yes, the Department of Corrections placed an advertorial in the Sunday Times on 8 June 2008.

1. 
   The advertorials were also placed in the City Press and Daily Sun
   

2. 
   The cost of placing the advertorials was as follows:
   

Sunday Times - R220 077

City Press - R155 520

Daily Sun - R78 000

Total - R453 597

3. 
   The advertorials on the respective publications are aimed at reaching the various targeted LSM groupings so that they could be informed about the achievements, challenges and interventions that the department intends embarking on so as to discharge its mandate on safe detention, rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders for a safer South Africa.
   

Independent survey results have shown that the Higher the Leaving Standards Measure (LSM) (7-10) the less the inclination to be involved in DCS activities as the perception is that this LSM contributes significantly to the tax base. The Lower LSM groups on the other hand have less information about Correctional Services which impacts also negatively on their participation and contribution in realizing the notion of corrections as a societal responsibility. 

QUESTION NO. 985
DATE PUBLISHED: 13 June 2008