By Buhle Makabane
SERVICES will not be disrupted, despite a strike planned for Tuesday, 12 July by municipal workers.
"The impending municipal strike is still going ahead and it is very unfortunate that it had to come to this," said Nthatisi Modingoane, media liaison for the City of Johannesburg.
"The council will take all possible measures to minimise disruption of service delivery."
The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and the Independent Municipal Allied Union indicated their intention to proceed with the strike following a deadlock on national wage negotiations between the unions and the South African Local Government Association (Salga).
Salga is offering a 6 percent increase while the unions are demanding a 9 percent increase.
Trade unions have lodged a notice with the South African Local Government Bargaining Council and Salga to formalise their strike in terms of the Labour Relations Act. This makes the strike legal and compliant with the act.
However, Salga has indicated that essential services workers will not be protected if they join the strike as they are not allowed to strike. The "no work, no pay " principle would apply to them, Salga warned.
The City apologised for any inconvenience that may arise from the strike.
Modingoane said that essential services would not be affected. These include the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, emergency management services, City Power, Johannesburg Water, Pikitup and the department of health.
The City will also run major pay points during the strike. Residents will also be able to use alternative outlets including banks, supermarkets and ATMs to pay their municipal accounts. Pre-paid customers are advised to recharge in advance.
Households whose waste is collected on Tuesdays are advised to put their bins out as usual. If the Pikitup collection is disrupted, they should keep their waste until the next scheduled collection round the following week.
Should residents want to dispose of their own waste, garden and landfill sites will be open on the day of the strike. Joburg Connect has a list of these.
Disruptions to electricity, water, buses and traffic must also be referred to Joburg Connect on 011 375 5555.
Contingency plans are in place for a number of other services.
The Samwu general secretary, Roger Ronnie, says the strike will definitely go ahead. Workers from Johannesburg municipality are expected to gather at Beyers Naude Square in the city centre.
"We are sticking to our demand for a 9 percent wage or R400 increment across the board. We are also fighting for a minimum wage of R3 000."
Salga and the unions are expected to continue talks on the day of the strike. According to Salga, it is calling on the unions to reconsider their intention to strike and return to the negotiating table.
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