As the city council and striking Pikitup workers affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union dither with no solution in sight to the protracted labour strike, residents in Alex will be the worst losers in this impasse.
The prospects of a disease outbreak loom from the rubbish piling up and decomposing on the streets and in overflowing rubbish bins and torn refuse bags.
The accumulating waste compounds the massive rat population in the township, although it does bring joy to starving stray dogs which tear the refuse bags open, leaving the rubbish strewn in the streets.
Neither the city council or strikers seem prepared to back down from their entrenched positions with city council accusing the strikers of violating a court interdict. The strikers insist on their pay-related demand and accused the city council of its intransigent protective position of retaining Pikitup’s managing director Amanda Nair.
The strikers allege that Nair was embroiled in impropriety which included a corrupt tender which allegedly cost the City R230 million. They further allege that she had a hand in the dismissal of some of their leaders who had demanded the implementation of a city council decision to replace workers’ contractual arrangements with permanent employment.
Nair was, however, exonerated of the tender corruption charge by the new Pikitup board. Also, MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services, Matshidiso Mfikoe, came to Nair’s defence by urging those who had evidence against her to present it.
At a recent annual general meeting of the city council held at the Alexandra Stadium, Mayor Parks Tau denounced the strikers. Tau accused them of illegally striking and accused them of intimidating non-striking workers and private service providers contracted for refuse collection.
The strikers countered this castigation by urging city council to rather use the R2 million it claims to spend daily on external refuse removal services to meet their salary increase demands.
