The City of Johannesburg announced it had to postpone the second installment of the current administration’s #BillingOpenDay due to unforeseen work stoppages in the Revenue Shared Service Centre (RSSC).
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The City’s acting stakeholder manager and spokesperson, Lesego Ngobeni said employees at RSSC unit of the City initially abandoned their workstations on August 25, following the arrest of over 10 staff members on allegations of fraud and corruption.
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“The MMC for Finance, Dr Rabelani Dagada met with staff on August 28 to empathise with those who had claimed to have been traumatised by the arrest of their colleagues and offered his support, whilst urging them to return to work,” said Ngobeni.
He said despite an agreement to resume their duties on August 29, employees within the RSSC unit embarked on illegal work stoppage which has adversely affected the City’s ability to deliver the multi-disciplinary, full-service function required to resolve queries at the #BillingOpenDay.
“Customers are encouraged to use other service centres in all the regions of the City to resolve lingering billing woes. An announcement will be made soon on the date for the next #BillingOpenDay. The current work stoppages are not in compliance with requirements of the Labour Relations Act and City employees involved will have no protection from dismissal under the act. Unequivocally, disciplinary action will be instituted against everyone involved,” he said.
Ngobeni said the city supports the right of workers to strike as enshrined in the Constitution.
“However, workers should always be cautious and responsible in exercising this right ensuring that it doesn’t infringe on the liberties of others. The City cannot condone the flagrant disregard for labour regulations,” he said. The MMC of Finance, along with his staff is working to normalise the situation so that the City can continue the delivery of quality basic service to all the people of Johannesburg.
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