The waste management company’s services are not operational in 10 of the 12 depots around Johannesburg because of protest action
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has accused ActionSA of having “influenced” the strike at Pikitup depots by workers whose contracts have expired.
In a statement on Monday, Samwu’s Johannesburg regional secretary Thobani Nkosi said ActionSA in the City of Johannesburg had “irresponsibly and frivolously called for the nullification of the employment of 300 permanent Pikitup employees to accommodate this disgruntled group”.
Last Thursday, contracted workers embarked on a protest, blocking the entrances of Pikitup’s depots in Norwood, Marlboro, Waterval, Selby, Randburg, Midrand and Diepsloot and demanding employment after their contracts under the Expanded Public Works Programme expired.
Pikitup services are operational in only two of the 12 depots around the City of
Johannesburg, as a result of the continued protest action, the entity said on Monday.
ActionSA called for the nullification of the employment of 300 permanent Pikitup employees after unverified claims of bribery and cadre deployment by workers.
“As ActionSA Joburg, we want Pikitup to nullify the employment of these cadres and start a new, transparent process that will also allow those who are working for the entity to apply,” the party’s Nobuhle Mthembu said in a statement.
ActionSA said it had written to Johannesburg city manager Floyd Brink and member of the mayoral committee for environment and infrastructure services Jack Sekwaila, asking them to urgently intervene and conduct an investigation.
“The hiring of more than 300 employees to cover a vacancy in 12 pickup terminals was done in a clandestine and clumsy manner,” Mthembu said.
Protesters in Albertville, near the Waterval depot, said that Pikitup management had refused to grant permanent contracts to temporary workers, accusing it of taking bribes to employ new workers.
Pikitup has refuted claims by protesting workers and ActionSA of bribery and cadre deployment within the refuse service.
“These allegations have been bandied around in this saga but evidence is yet to be provided to substantiate them. Therefore, such allegations are without substance,” said Pikitup’s spokesperson, Muzi Mkhwanazi.
“It is important to clarify that the current protest action is not a strike by Pikitup’s employees but by casual workers; members of Samwu and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union, the recognised unions within the organisation, are not on strike,” Mkhwanazi added.
Pikitup said it had deployed the public order policing unit to remove protesters obstructing its depots to ensure that employees could resume waste collection services for Johannesburg’s residents.
“A recovery plan is also being devised to ensure that the waste collection backlogs that
will be occasioned by the present situation are addressed speedily,” Mkhwanazi said.
On Monday, disgruntled workers could be seen burning tyres in Albertville.
Pikitup said senior management had been sent to the depots to talk to the workers and stressed that a principle of “no work, no pay” would be enforced against those involved in protest action.