Dangerous asbestos to be removed

A heap of asbestos material that has been lying uncovered at the Bloemfontein offices of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality’s power utility, Centlec, is expected to be removed by the end of the week, according to the entity’s spokesperson Lele Mamatu.

Concerns over the open heap gained momentum after employees downed tools and listed the asbestos as one of their grievances that remained unattended to by their employer.

The employees told OFM News they are concerned that exposure to the asbestos will have a negative impact on their health.

Meanwhile, Mamatu said there had been significant progress on the removal of the asbestos and that the contractor had been issued with an appointment letter to start removing it and clean the area.

The employees, who since last week have gathered outside the Centlec building in Bloemfontein, demanded that working conditions be improved, there be an end to nepotism and tender fraud, as well as the permanent employment of workers currently in acting positions.

The workers further called for the removal of the utility’s chief executive, Andries Mgoqi, on allegations that he had run the entity into a state of disarray and ignored their concerns.

In the memorandum of demands, received by deputy mayor Lebohang Masoetsa last week, the workers demanded their grievances be addressed within 48 hours, which lapsed on Monday.

Mamatu added that the engagement between the deputy executive mayor, executive management team of Centlec and the leadership of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) was set to take place soon.

He said the deputy mayor had a follow-up engagement with Samwu and appealed to workers to return to work to allow space for negotiations to take place.

Mamatu also confirmed that Mgoqi had sent a stern warning that a no-work-nopay policy would be implemented.

“Centlec will continue to monitor the situation from time to time and be proactive where service delivery might be affected,” said Mamatu. – OFM News