The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) said on Wednesday that it had accepted the City of Johannesburg’s and Pikitup’s minimum wage offer of R6 609 to end a refuse-worker strike, but alleged, without giving details, that the mayor of Johannesburg, Amos Masondo, had interfered in the process to ensure that Pikitup management did not sign the agreement.
Refuse workers based at waste-management agency Pikitup, the main shareholder of which is the City of Johannesburg, went on strike more than a week ago demanding that an investigation be commissioned into allegations of corruption worth millions related to tender fraud. The workers were also asking to level pay disparities so that there would be a minimum wage of R6 609.
Samwu held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon to air two issues. One, that Masondo was a spanner in the works of a wage agreement being signed between Pikitup and the union, and two, that a meeting of an investigation task team that was set up to tackle corruption and nepotism did not take place on Tuesday as planned.
‘We are happy with the proposals’
“All we want is for the city management and Pikitup to sign the proposals that had been tabled on Friday; the strike will then be called off. Workers are happy with the proposals that were made on Friday and have accepted the offer,” said Menzi Luthuli, Samwu’s Gauteng provincial organiser.
But he added: “We cannot understand why both the City of Johannesburg and Pikitup have backed out of signing the agreement that the parties have reached and why they have not commissioned the investigation task team. We are willing to call off the strike and are waiting at the negotiating table …”
Gabu Tugwana, director for communications in the mayor’s office, could not be reached for comment. At the time of publishing, Pikitup CEO Zingisile Ntsaluba was not available for comment on whether the mayor was interfering in the process and what was happening to the investigation into corruption and nepotism.
Meanwhile, this week all the Pikitup board members, except one, resigned. Tahir Sema, Samu’s spokesperson, said that that while the resignations were a step in the right direction, the union had no intention of forging ahead with wanting an investigation — it has handed documents showing alleged corruption to the Special Investigation Unit and to the Hawks.