ETHEKWINI Municipality has assured eThekwini residents that it is doing everything in its power to resolve the illegal industrial action by some of its staff.
Service delivery came to a halt in the city on Tuesday as staff from service departments including Electricity, Water, Sanitation, Parks and DSW went on strike to protest the irregular employment and salary increases of Mkhontho weSizwe (MK) veterans by the municipality.
Striking workers are demanding that they also be given a Grade 10 salary increase similar to that given to MK veterans and caused havoc in the city centre as they prtoested outside the Durban City Hall.
The city said it suspected that the numerous acts of water infrastructure sabotage recorded recently were as result of certain workers who were familiar with the system. Up until Tuesday, the municipality was still locked in talks with representatives of unions to find an amicable solution to the impasse.
Leader of the special task team set up by KZN Premier Willies Mchunu, MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works, Ravi Pillay, said several issues had been identified that needed attention, adding that the issue of upgrading all workers to Grade 10 immediately had not yet been resolved.
“We have been negotiating since 3pm on Tuesday and have identified all issues that need attention. We have proposed a process to deal with these matters but the upgrading issue still remains a stumbling block,” said Pillay.
READ RELATED: Strike affects traffic in Durban CBD
City Manager Sipho Nzuza called upon all workers to give the leadership of both the municipality and unions a space to deliberate on the grievances.
“The city is fully operational and we acknowledge there are certain areas within the city that may have certain services, more especially water, disrupted. This is due to acts of sabotage to our operations that have characterised this strike which is very unfortunate. We apologise to ratepayers who are bearing the brunt of this strike. We have brought private contractors on board to assist us in attending to urgent cases. Let us all be civil, this is our city and we need to drill it in our heads that dialogue is the only solution at all times where we do not see eye to eye, ” said Nzuza.
In the wake of the strikes, the DA has called on the immediate resignation of Mayor Zandile Gumede and claims the eThekwini Municipality is on verge of collapse.
“Maladministration and dodgy dealings have characterised the Gumede administration,” said Councillor Chris Pappas, adding that the DA had fromed a petition to have the mayor removed: bit.ly/GumedeMustGo
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