Central SA
Sol Plaatje municipal workers down tools─── ZENANDE MPAME 12:32 Wed, 17 May 2023
Samwu members were seated outside the Sol Plaatje Municipal offices demanding that a local labour forum meeting be convened.
The municipal offices were open on Tuesday 16 May, even though many employees had been waiting outside the building since 08:00 to demand the call of a forum meeting.
The local secretary for SamwuAMWU, Nomathamsanqa Banda, says the most recent local labour meeting took place four months ago.
“These meetings are supposed to take place at least once a month,” she says.
The union also demanded that all suspended employees at the Sol Plaatje Municipality be given their jobs back after Phetole Sithole, the interim executive director for infrastructure and services, was given his job back last week.
“If our grievances are not addressed, the tools down will continue indefinitely,” says Banda.
The union’s local chairperson, Daily Semau, says that starting in July, they wanted contract staff to be converted to permanent ones and that back-dated Covid-19 allowances be paid to all workers.
The municipality's spokesperson, Thoko Riet, says a meeting was scheduled yesterday but postponed to this morning.
“Because of this protest, our offices at the civic centre are temporarily closed until they meet with management. Some municipal services will be affected, cashier points are also closed. We regret the inconvenience,” says Riet.
