Municipal workers back on the picket line

About 8 000 members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) are to continue striking in Ekurhuleni on Monday, said the union.

Samwu’s provincial secretary Koena Ramotlou said the strike would continue after wage negotiations did not take place over the weekend.

Ramotlou said members would be picketing outside the Ekurhuleni civic centre.

He said the union would be writing a letter to management on Monday to try kickstart negotiations.

Last Thursday, the union held a protest march where it handed over a list of grievances to Gauteng premier Mbazima Shilowa.

Among other demands, the union called for the resignation of city manager Patrick Flusk and the Ekurhuleni mayor, Duma Nkosi.

They claimed both Flusk and Nkosi had misled the public and the African National Congress by declaring their municipal strike illegal and for negotiating in bad
faith.

Workers downed tools last week, demanding the municipality make the Tembisa Waste Project employees permanent staff from July onwards.

On Monday the union said water supplies to Gauteng, parts of the North West, Free State and Mpumalanga could come to a standstill over water board wage negotiations.

The union said over 2 000 workers at the Rand Water Board organised by Samwu and a minority union, Ausa, were asking for a 18% increase or R700, whichever is the greater.

At the first round of wage negotiations last week, management offered 9%.

Negotiations were due to continue on Wednesday. - Sapa