Safa falls on hard times as employees threaten to strike over poor pay

Employees of the South African Football Association (Safa) have issued an ultimatum to the football governing body, threatening to go on strike if their grievances over salaries are not addressed.

The staff expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of salary increases while Safa continues to pay substantial honorariums to its 54 national executive members.

In an email sent to Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao, the employees highlighted their concerns and set a deadline of March 22 for a favourable response.

Failure to meet their demands could result in disruptions that may impact Banyana Banyana’s preparations for the upcoming Confederation of African Football (Caf) Women’s Olympic encounter.

The situation at Safa has been further complicated by recent events, including a search and seizure raid by the Hawks serious commercial crime investigations unit at Safa House.

The raid was conducted following allegations made by former Safa executive member Willie Mooka against Safa president Danny Jordaan, accusing him of fraud and theft amounting to R1.3 million from 2014 to 2018.

In response to the raid, Caf expressed concerns about the respect and image of football in South Africa and requested Safa to provide a report to clarify any potential violations of Caf and Fifa statutes and regulations.

The employees’ frustration came to a head during a staff meeting at Safa House when Monyepao and CFO Gronie Hluyo informed them that their request for salary increases had been rejected by the national executive committee (NEC).

The staff argued that while the cost of living continues to rise, their salaries have remained stagnant, highlighting the disparity between their remuneration and the honorariums paid to NEC members.

“Our argument is that while the cost of living keeps getting higher, our salaries have stayed the same. But Safa has money to pay the NEC honorarium on a regular basis, yet it has none for overworked and overstretched employees who remain poorly remunerated. We stressed that cost-cutting measures have reduced the staff complement from 300 to below 50 over the years,” said an employee who requested anonymity.



Also Read: Pule’s AmaZulu future hangs in the balance