Correctional Services Act, 1998 (Act No. 111 of 1998)Chapter XII: Officials of the Department96. Powers, functions and duties of correctional officials |
| 1) | The Department and every correctional official in its service must strive to fulfil the purpose of this Act and to that end every correctional official must perform his or her duties under this Act. |
| 2) |
| a) | Subject to the provisions of subsection (1), the relationship between the Department as employer and every correctional official in the service of the Department is regulated by the provisions of the Labour Relations Act and the Public Service Act. |
| b) | Notwithstanding item 6(2) of Schedule 8 to the Labour Relations Act, where a service of the Department is designated as an essential service in terms of section 71 of the Act, and an official who provides such service participates in a strike that does not comply with the provisions of chapter IV of that Act and the strike constitutes a threat to the safety of inmates, officials or the public, the official in question may be summarily dismissed, if such dismissal is substantively fair, as contemplated in item 6(1) of that Schedule. |
| 3) | Subject to the provisions of this Act and the provisions of the Labour Relations Act and having regard to the operational requirements of the Department, the National Commissioner shall determine the qualifications for appointment and promotion and decide on the appointment, promotion and transfer of correctional officials, but- |
| a) | the appointment or promotion of a correctional official to or above the post level of director takes place in consultation with the Minister; |
| b) | all persons who qualify for appointment, promotion or transfer must be considered; |
| c) | the assessment of persons shall be based on level of training, relevant skills, competence, and the need to redress the imbalances of the past in order to achieve a Department broadly representative of the South African population, including representation according to race, gender and disability; |
| d) | despite the provisions of paragraph (c), the National Commissioner may, subject to the conditions prescribed by regulation, approve the appointment, transfer or promotion of persons to promote the basic values and principles referred to in section 195(1) of the Constitution; and |
| e) | for the purposes of promotion or transfer, the National Commissioner may exempt a correctional official who is exceptionally skilled, has special training, renders exceptional service, or has successfully completed a prescribed departmental training course, from the requirements of the Code of Remuneration. |
| 4) |
| a) | The National Commissioner may appoint unpaid voluntary workers who are not employees of the Department. |
| b) | Such workers have the same duties and are subject to the same restrictions as correctional officials but may only exercise the powers of correctional officials to the extent determined by the National Commissioner. |
| 5) | The provisions relating to the retirement, resignation or discharge of correctional officials contained in the Correctional Services Act, 1959 (Act No. 8 of 1959), remain in force unless amended in the Bargaining Council for the Department of Correctional Services in terms of the Labour Relations Act and the Public Service Act. |