Ex-staff want permanent employment

About 194 disgruntled former City of Ekurhuleni employees are taking the municipality to the Labour Court on appeal demanding permanent employment.

The workers were employed by the city in 2014 on a year-long contract which expired in 2015.

They were employed as part of the city’s Lungile Mtshali Development Plan, which is a job-creation project.

The group claimed the city had promised them permanent positions as general workers and were equipped by their former employer with necessary skills.

Last year, they won a court battle in which the municipality was ordered to pay each of them R24 000 compensation. However, they are challenging the court order and are demanding permanent positions they claimed the city had promised them.

One of the disgruntled workers, William Gundwane, said R24 000 was too little. “What am I going to do with that money? It will be finished in a day. I want what the city promised me. I don’t want financial compensation, but permanent employment,” he said.

Gundwane said they were recruited by the city on 3 March 2014. “After signing our contracts, we were promised to be provided with entrepreneurial skills, bricklaying, plumbing and other skills development programmes. We were cleaning recreational parks, schools, clinics, storm water drains and other municipal buildings.

“We were also deployed at the water and sanitation unit with permanent employees. We were earning R2 000 per month and the city deducted R20 claiming it was for UIF,”

A year later, they were told their contracts had expired. The contracts were extended for four months, he said.

The group then approached the Bargaining Council represented by the Casual Workers Advice Office. While their matter was being heard at the Bargaining Council, Gundwane claimed the municipality approached them promising to provide them eightmonth contracts. They told the city they wanted permanent jobs, not contracts.

The group then escalated the matter to the Labour Court with the help of the SA Human Rights Commission. In February 2020, the court ruled against the city ordering it to pay them R24 000 each. The Labour Court will hear their appeal on 23 February. –

I want what the city promised me. I don’t want financial compensation but permanent employment.

William Gundwane Former Ekurhuleni worker