Sedibeng Ster recently witnessed a female employee being forced to use a bucket while her colleagues concealed her with a large cloth, as she relieved herself while male employees hid behind tombstones to relieve themselves. The employees told Sedibeng Ster that there is no running water at the cemetery therefore they can not use the toilets.
“If anyone experiences a sudden call from nature they have to pick a spot where they can relieve themselves, whether it’s a ‘number one’ or ‘number two’,” said City Ndakie, an employee.
These Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) female employees at the Vanderbijlpark Cemetery have to use a bucket when nature calls.
This is one of the several complaints that employees made last week, when they shut down ELM’s Parks and Cemetery offices.
Other complaints include not getting paid overtime for over five months. Employees complained that the municipality spent money on lawyers defending cases against it, than on paying personnel. The employees say that they are owed overtime payments in excess of R10 000. They are also against the reinstatement of their manager, Sthembiso Ngubeni. The employees said that at the moment it appears that the re-employed Ngubeni has more power and authority than the ELM Manager.
The employees said that the Department of Cemeteries is making money for the municipality but workers are not been recognised. The striking employees met ELM Execeutive Mayor , Gift Moerane, who promised that they will be paid soon and that their other concerns will be addressed.
Here is a link to the original article:https://vaalweekblad.com/56696/pics-vanderbijlpark-cemetery-employees-forced-use-buckets-toilets/
