Striking South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) workers on Thursday refused to accept a proposal to alter their pay demands.
Workers also refused to hand over their memorandum of grievances to Johannesburg mayor Amos Masondo’s legal representative Thajedi Masikela.
The mediator engaged in the pay dispute between Samwu, the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union and the South African Local Government Association (Salga) proposed that all the parties involved change their mandates to allow room for negotiation.
He proposed an across-the-board increase of 6% with an additional 1,5% adjustment, effective from February 1 next year, to the wages of all workers earning below R4 792 per month.
Salga’s pre-strike offer was a 6% wage increase against the unions’ demands of a R3 000 guaranteed minimum wage or an 8% or R350 increase, whichever is the greatest.
Gathered outside the Braamfontein Civic Centre, the workers demanded that Masondo accept the memorandum personally, despite an explanation by Samwu leaders that the march had started late and therefore Masondo could not wait any longer for the workers to arrive.
Samwu general secretary Dumisani Langa told the thousands of workers that the mayor had been expecting them at noon but the march from the Johannesburg central business district only began after noon.
”We need to take part of the blame for Masondo not being here. We were late because of transport problems,” he said.
The workers booed Masondo’s representative, saying they would rather march to the Civic Centre on Friday to give Masondo the memorandum.
They decided to meet outside the Civic Centre at 10am, and threatened to hold demonstrations outside the various municipal offices to root out ”traitors” who are going to work despite the call by Samwu for them to stay away.
Workers are adamant that they will not budge from their demand of an 8% wage increase.
Salga has already implemented its 6% offer.
The workers dispersed peacefully without any major incidents of violence or confrontations with police. — Sapa