August 16, 2005
By Anish Abraham
SOME normality has returned to the city following the suspension of the municipal workers strike. However, the South African Local Government Association (Salga) and the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) are yet to agree on wage increases.
The union announced on Sunday, 14 August it had suspended its indefinite strike, though it had not accepted the revised offer as proposed by Yunus Shaik, a mediator with the South African Local Government Bargaining Council.
Meanwhile, the City of Johannesburg is to monitor staff attendance closely until Wednesday, 17 August, to ensure all its workers are back on the job.
"Those who fail to return to work should know that they are engaging in unprotected action and must expect disciplinary action. The City needs its full workforce to fulfil its service delivery obligations and everyone must be on board," said Gabu Tugwana, the City's director of communications.
Municipal workers were on strike at major centres across the country from 27 to 29 July and then from 8 to 12 August, demanding higher wage increases and an increased minimum wage.
The unions have since decided to use the mediation proposal as a basis for further negotiations with employer body Salga.
City services
Residents and businesses have been asked to put their rubbish outside their premises for collection from today, according to a City press release.
Rubbish collection will be running a day late, meaning that the usual Monday round will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday's round the day after, until all the routes have been covered.
Contractors have been brought in to help clear the collection backlog, and will work long hours, including Saturday and Sunday where necessary. They will also be posted to garden sites, where some industrial contractors were seen dumping waste outside the yards.
"The cleaning of the inner city received a setback last Friday night when five contract employees in a team of 200 were assaulted," Tugwana said.
Two of them received serious head injuries and spent a night at the Garden City Clinic. Three others were given first aid treatment by the emergency management services and metro police, who accompanied the contractors during their work.
Tugwana said the case was being investigated.
City officials expect to normalise waste collection within two weeks.
Metrobus announced that passengers using tags would be allowed free trips for 10 days from Wednesday, 17 August until Friday, 26 August. This would enable passengers to redeem the trips they lost because of the strike.
These passengers, however, must show valid tags and their trip reload receipts to get the free rides.
Disrupted services
The strike mainly disrupted the services of Metrobus and Pikitup, the City's waste management arm.
Protesting workers also trashed streets in the inner city on their marches from Beyers Naudé Square and Ghandi Square to the Metropolitan Centre in Braamfontein, where they tried unsuccessfully to deliver a memorandum to Johannesburg Executive Mayor Councillor Amos Masondo.
The march on 28 July, which was found to be illegal in terms of the City's bylaws, was marred by violence. Police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowd, and about 70 strikers were arrested.
Other than that, picketing by Samwu members in front of the council offices in Braamfontein, was peaceful.
Increases
Salga earlier implemented a salary increase of 6 percent, while the unions demanded a minimum salary of R3 000 a month and an increase of 8 percent or R350, whichever was the greater.
The mediator proposed an added 1,5 percent increase to the salaries of workers earning less than R4 792 a month, from February 2006.
He also proposed that a R3 000 minimum salary be implemented in the third year of the agreement, with an increase of 1 percent plus consumer price inflation, in the second and third years.
For more information on city services, contact Joburg Connect on 011 375 5555.
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