A message allegedly sent by a Cartrack manager to an employee, telling her a power outage meant she hadn’t really “worked herself to death”, has taken on chilling significance following the death of a colleague at the company’s Rosebank offices.
The message is at the centre of a whistleblower account that paints a picture of a workplace where illegal overtime was allegedly routine, complaints were allegedly suppressed, and workers were allegedly made to feel that exhaustion was their problem to bear.
“Imagine being forced to stay in a non-operational control room and then being told to continue working more shifts because when the power was out, I didn’t work myself to death,” the whistleblower told The Citizen. “Oh my word, my mental health was so bad. I could’ve easily been this lady who just passed on.”
The message that now reads differently
The whistleblower, an alleged former controller at Cartrack who asked not to be named, came forward after the death of her colleague, Gcina Dhladhla, at the company’s offices.
Social media posts claimed that Dhladhla was not allowed to leave the premises despite reporting she was ill. This was denied by the company. “We are saddened and shocked by the false claims circulating on social media regarding the circumstances of this tragic incident,” Cartrack told The Citizen earlier this week.
The whistleblower said the manager’s message was sent during a period of extended overtime, when a power outage at a client site had halted operations briefly.
Rather than stand workers down, management used the downtime to justify keeping staff on shift.
“I know you were on duty Saturday and Sunday, but the power was off, and you did not really work yourself to death,” the manager allegedly wrote.
The whistleblower says those words, dismissive at the time, now feel impossible to read without thinking of her colleague.
Nine consecutive 12-hour shifts
The whistleblower says the culture that produced that message was systemic.
She was allegedly required to work two days, two nights, and then receive four days off, all 12-hour shifts. In practice, she says, that arrangement was regularly discarded.
“They forced us to cover his shifts, hence having to work 7 to 9 days at a time,” she claimed, referring to a colleague who had resigned without management making provision for his replacement.
She has documentation to support her claims, including internal email correspondence in which a manager reminded staff that HR had confirmed employees could be required to work up to 40 hours of overtime per month, and warned that refusal would be reported to the client.
“They would always threaten us with ‘you’re working for the client that pays your salary’ as if we don’t already know this,” she claimed.
Cartrack has not responded to The Citizen’s request for comment on these allegations. They did, however, say they would issue a statement on Thursday. That statement did not address any of the allegation raised by The Citizen.
Sunday overtime paid at half rate
The grievances extended beyond hours.
The whistleblower says staff were also shortchanged on overtime pay, including for Sunday shifts they believed should be compensated at double their normal rate.
Family and company meet; protests mount outside
On Thursday, the Dhladhla family and Cartrack issued a joint statement following what both parties described as an “emotional and constructive” meeting.
Both sides said they were committed to supporting independent investigations into the circumstances of Dhladhla’s death.
The family extended an invitation to Gcina’s managers and colleagues to attend her funeral, with Cartrack expressing gratitude for the gesture.
ANC Youth League leads march outside Cartrack offices
Meanwhile, outside the company’s Rosebank offices, ANC Youth League representatives led a march demanding accountability.
Protesters raised concerns about access to sick leave, fair pay, and unsafe working conditions, including claims that more than 65 workers were housed in a small room with no windows and limited exits.
Representatives said they had submitted a memorandum to management and warned that protests would escalate if demands were not met.
‘I could’ve easily been this lady’
The whistleblower says she ultimately chose to resign rather than pursue legal action, though she kept her documentation in case she changed her mind.
Her exit was eventually formalised as a retrenchment, which entitled her to a payout.
“I resigned because their client was so abusive,” she alleged. “But these people are genuinely toxic. They don’t care.”
She claimed the manager’s words about not working herself to death stayed with her, and that Dhladhla’s death had brought them flooding back.
“I have this evidence because I wanted to take them to court,” she claimed. “I could’ve easily been this lady who just passed on.”
