Toilet cleaners want their jobs back
UITENHAGE cleaners have threatened to keep public toilets closed at a major town taxi rank until their contract with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is renewed.
While the municipality had previously outsourced the work to private companies, it now plans to use municipal employees to clean the toilets.
The 10 cleaners lost their jobs on Monday and have kept the toilets closed since then.
About 50 KwaLanga and Rosedale residents joined the cleaners yesterday, barring the use of toilets at the Uitenhage terminus taxi rank in Durban Street.
The municipality had decided not to renew a three-month contract with Plateau Solution.
The cleaners started as volunteers in 2013 but were absorbed by Plateau Solution, hired to clean the toilets for the past three months.
They had also worked with a number of other contractors.
Ntomboxolo Ketadi, 31, who earned R2 000 a month as a cleaner, said anyone who took their jobs would be chased off.
“We only became aware of this situation on Monday.
“When we followed it up with officials, they said we must give other people a chance.”
Ketadi said she needed money for the holidays.
Nelson Mandela Bay deputy mayor Mongameli Bobani condemned the cleaners’ action.
“The transfer of the work from a private company to the municipality is a cost-cutting measure.
“Instead of outsourcing services, work that can be done within the municipality must be done by our staff.”
Plateau Solution owner Eschel Liesering said: “I understand their gripe.
“They were happy to work for me and they had hoped this contract would be extended.”