BLOEMFONTEIN – The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) has announced it is taking further legal action to compel the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to fully comply with a Labour Court order regarding the takeover of the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein, effective from yesterday, 1 July.
Free State POPCRU secretary Sibongile Ramahlokoane said the union instructed its legal team to file urgent court papers after learning through social media that the takeover of the centre had taken place at midnight.

The facility was subsequently renamed the Grootvlei Maximum Correctional Centre. This is the prison where convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester, known as Facebook Rapist, escaped on 3 May 2022 with the assistance of selected officials.
National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale reportedly oversaw the transition, which brought an end to the 25-year public-private partnership (PPP) between the department, Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (BCC) and security firm G4S. The partnership officially ended yesterday, 30 June.

Ramahlokoane said that, further to the union’s dismay, about 500 workers affiliated with the union were locked out and denied access to the facility when reporting for duty this morning. Dozens were caught off guard and forced to stand outside in the cold by the gate of the facility, while others were seen queuing along the R702.

Ramahlokoane explained that the department’s action was a direct violation of the Labour Court order, which stipulates that Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) applies to the transfer, including the absorption of workers who had been employed at the centre since June 2001. The department proceeded without giving effect to the rights and protections of affected workers as required by law.

“We are in the process of filing papers with our lawyers against the department for contempt of court. Our members will be represented by our legal team and POPCRU. We are saying National Commissioner must be arrested. We have learned through social media that the handover was a flawless exercise,” she said.

Ramahlokoane added: “The department is heartless. How can it lock out people who served this correctional centre for more than 25 years? These are human beings, and these members of POPCRU have families they need to provide for.”

She is confident justice will prevail. “We believe in justice. Our members should get their jobs back as mandated by the Labour Court order under Section 197 of the LRA,” she said.

POPCRU, together with G4S, previously approached the Labour Court seeking a declaratory order that Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act — which ensures that existing employees are transferred to the department — applies to the takeover. This was necessary because the department had sought to proceed with the takeover of the Mangaung Correctional Centre without giving effect to the rights and protections of affected workers as required by law.

Editor’s note: The department postponed a media briefing, initially scheduled for 1 July, at which it was expected to provide an explanation about the transition. A new date is yet to be confirmed.