STAFF at the troubled National Lotteries Commission (NLC) have expressed their unhappiness after the entity embarked on lifestyle audits of its employees without consulting their representatives.
The NLC has been rocked by a string of scandals involving some of its staff and prominent individuals.
The Public Servants Association (PSA), which is the recognised trade union at the NLC last requested that the lifestyle audits be withdrawn with immediate effect and be referred to the bargaining forum for negotiation and finalisation.
According to correspondence seen by the Sunday Independent, the PSA said it protects the rights of its members and bargains on their behalf with the commission, as regulated by the recognition agreement, in the bargaining forum.
”It has come to our attention that the employer (NLC) has introduced the lifestyle audit to all employees, without consultation and it being discussed and negotiated at the bargaining forum,” the union complained.
The PSA indicated that its members at the NLC informed it that the commission unilaterally introduced the lifestyle audit and requested that all employees comply with the policy.
It has requested that the lifestyle audits policy be held in abeyance pending the introduction of the matter at the bargaining forum for negotiation and finalisation.
In response, NLC commissioner Jodi Scholtz said she has considered the PSA’s request.
”I have considered your request to engage the employer regarding the envisaged lifestyle audits at NLC. My office shall advise the secretary of the NLC collective bargaining forum to schedule an urgent meeting for parties to engage on the subject matter,” Scholtz wrote to the PSA.
She also undertook that the secretary of the collective bargaining forum will liaise with the union on the possible dates of the requested meeting.
The NLC has budgeted to deposit nearly R1.9 billion into the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, which the commission administers, in the current financial year.
Lifestyle audits are conducted in order to enhance an investigation or to be able to conclude it, an investigator may require the assistance of an auditor to identify assets that could clarify an employee’s unexplained wealth and/or to identify potential proceeds of unlawful activities, according to the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA).
A lifestyle audit is an objective evaluation of an individual’s standard of living compared to his or her income done by auditors, and the audit expresses an opinion derived by applying audit sampling methods as governed by legislation and complying with audit standards.
The government has previously announced that lifestyle audits are an important management tool to prevent and detect fraud and corruption in the public service and that they also help to ensure that the lifestyles of government employees are in line with their level of income.
In addition, the government approved compulsory guidelines for all audits of public servants in both national and provincial departments, as well as state-owned enterprises.
Earlier this month, the DPSA revealed that 91 senior managers were referred for investigations as a result of lifestyle audits and that the institutionalisation of lifestyle audits in the public service continues to improve with 147 out of 160 national and provincial departments finalising their lifestyle audits by the end of July this year.
The senior managers referred for further investigation are from seven national departments and 20 provincial departments.
The investigations include conflicts of interest but also serious allegations of unexplained wealth and conducting business with the government, which is not permitted.