About 200 parking attendants, members of the Kungwini Amalgamated Workers Union, marched to ACE Parking Services on 17 July to hand over a memorandum outlining their demands, which they gave the employers until 22 July to respond to.
The members, who currently earn on a commission basis and were not registered with the labour department, demanded a basic salary of R5 000 per month and a 30 percent commission on monies made per month.
Other demands included that workers receive an annual bonus equivalent to their basic salary with effect from December 2014, and that all money which was unlawfully deducted from the attendants’ commission since January to recoup lost income, must be reimbursed.
Further, the union demanded the registration of all employees to a provident fund, the reinstatement of all suspended and dismissed employees with immediate effect, and the issuing of contracts of employment in line with the requirements of the basic conditions of employment.
The union’s president, Eric Sibisi said he was hopeful that the employers would make the workers a better offer.
“We want them to come to the table and negotiate, but if they do not respond positively to our demands we will take our plight to the table of the mayor.”
The workers would not return to work until their demands were met, he said.
“We will make sure operations come to a halt; we want them to feel the pinch because they’ve exploited the workers for too long.”
ACE Parking Service manages more than 7 000 municipal parking bays and employs the parking attendants that man these spaces, as part of the City of Joburg’s scheme to ensure compliance with parking laws.
However, the workers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the company’s treatment of them.
“Enough is enough; we don’t want to work under ACE Parking Services, we want to be to be under the municipality,” union shop steward Magdeline Mabusela said.
The attendants, who have been on strike since last week, claimed that they were being exploited by the company which unfairly deducted money from their earnings, and did not provide them with any protection or recourse from the dangers they encountered on the job.
“We get beaten up by angry motorists and even sometimes get hit by cars, but they show no concern for our safety,” Mabusela added.
