Catastrophe awaits Joburg if Pikitup wages rise, says mayor
City will need R1-billion a year to fund hikes for refuse workers
JOHANNESBURG mayor Parks Tau has warned that the city will be crippled financially if it agrees to raise the salaries of striking Pikitup workers.
Tau said the city would have to find an extra R1-billion annually just to cover the hike.
“We already know that the demands, as they are, are not sustainable. We will simply collapse the City of Joburg by acceding to this. We would have to substantially cut our [capital expenditure] and increase our rates to effect this.”
About 4 800 Pikitup workers affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union have been on an unprotected strike since early last month.
Besides their demand for a salary increase, they are also calling for the sacking of Pikitup MD Amanda Nair, whom they are accusing of nepotism, dishing out unexplained salary increases to those close to her and promoting people without conducting interviews.
Commenting on the workers’ demands for Nair’s removal, Tau said: “There is a Labour Relations Act which governs all of us. Once you start operating outside the law, you make it difficult for all of us.”
But he gave the assurance that the allegations would be thoroughly investigated.
The city has been coughing up about R1-million a day for the services of private refuse removal companies since workers went on strike on March 6.
This week, Johannesburg residents demanded a rebate from the city, arguing that they should not be paying for a service that was not being provided.
The striking workers are not budging.
Local Samwu office-bearer Esta Mtatyana said: “I think we are being undermined because
NOT UPLIFTING: Rubbish is piling up in 7th Street in Parktown, Johannesburg, as Pikitup workers remain on strike we are garbage collectors and they have a mentality that we are uneducated. Instead of dealing with the issue at hand, we are being intimidated with expulsion by Mfikoe, when she was the one who signed the agreement,” said Mtatyana.
Matshidiso Mfikoe is the member of the mayoral committee for environment and infrastructure services.
Her house in Soweto was petrol-bombed on Wednesday night, but it is unclear whether the attack could be linked to the strike.
On March 6, the day the city was scheduled to meet Samwu to receive a report on how the metro could address disparities in pay between entities of the council, Pikitup workers downed tools.
Pikitup confirmed this week that it had been spending R1million a day on contract workers to help keep the city clean.
Tau still cannot believe the timing of the strike. “On the day management was to present what they were authorised to present, the workers went to the streets. We are waiting for them to come back so that discussions can resume,” he said.
Last week, an attempt failed by the city to hold disciplinary hearings to try to force the workers to return to work.
The hearing plans followed an ultimatum by Mfikoe after workers ignored two court orders forcing them to return to work.
Tau admitted that the issue of addressing disparities between entities was brought to the city a long time ago.
In December last year, workers went on strike for weeks and the industrial action was only suspended when the then Gauteng MEC for human settlements, Jacob Mamabolo, intervened. A political facilitation agreement was signed by Mamabolo and Samwu, marking the end of a spate of illegal strikes by Pikitup workers.
Once you start operating outside the law, you make it difficult for all of us
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