The 44 workers were from the same group that protested in February. All refuse removal in the Merafong City Local Municipality stopped for weeks due to that strike.
The angry workers told the Herald on Monday that, although they were given new contracts after the previous strike, they were only valid for three months.
“They told us it was a three-month trial, after which we would be permanently employed.
This made sense as we have been working at the municipality for the past ten years.
We did most of the refuse removal because there were not enough permanent staff.
“We also worked straight through last year’s lockdown.
“When the municipality told us to ‘just go away’ after the contracts ended on 30 June, we could not just leave it,” they say.
The workers say hearing that many of the open permanent positions at the municipality would be filled this week just added fuel to the fire.
On Monday, the workers did not remove rubbish at all. They gathered at the main municipal building in Carletonville on Tuesday morning and stopped some municipal staff from entering.
Later that day, the Merafong City Local Municipality issued a press release, apologising to the public for the interruption of services.
The municipal spokesperson said Carletonville Ext 8, 9 and 16, the Potchefstroom Street area of Fochville and Khutsong South Phase 2 had been affected, but service delivery would be back to normal next week.
However, the municipality’s answers to questions from the Herald had a different tone.
“Those who are on strike are not municipal employees and the municipality hasn’t promised anybody permanent jobs.
“Contingency plans will be put in place to ensure that services are provided,” the municipal spokesperson said.
On Wednesday, however, one of the strikers told the Herald that the municipality had signed another month-long contract with them the previous afternoon. They were then allegedly promised permanent employment.
On Friday, another group of disgruntled residents gathered at the municipality.
Some also wanted jobs while the others were unhappy about an electrical transformer in Khutsong South Phase 2 that had not been repaired.
About two weeks ago, while the posts were being filled, another group of municipal workers also stopped working temporarily because they wanted permanent work.
