No pay, no work, say protesting PMB municipal workers

Workers from waste management, water and sanitation and electricity departments in Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, say their salaries were supposed to be transferred into their accounts on Wednesday, but had not been deposited, Pietermaritzburg Public Eye reports.

Acting city manager Sizwe Hadebe addressed the workers, saying officials had a meeting with FNB, who informed the city their system had been hacked, and therefore payments could not be made.

“I can confirm that we have had a meeting with the bank, and it seems like the system has been hacked,” Hadebe.

However, his explanation was met with jeers from the angry workers. some of whom retorted that they heard rumours that the city did not have enough money to pay them.

“How can workers not get paid? We are the city’s backbone in helping to provide basic service. There was no technical error when luxury cars needed to be bought,” retorted some employees.

Workers

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Municipal workers blockade

The workers then issued the city with an ultimatum saying: “No Pay. No Work.”

“We pity our residents; they will have to suffer because the right thing was not done. We will not fix, or be cleaning anything in the city before we get our money,” they added.

Nick Montso, head of provincial and local government at FNB public sector banking denied, however, that the bank’s system had been hacked.

“First National Bank [FNB] can confirm that its systems have not been compromised, and are operating normally.We are liaising directly with the client regarding the matter,” said Montso.

Municipality spokesperson Thobeka Mafumbatha said investigations were under way regarding the matter.

“I cannot confirm anything as yet our offices have no electricity, but finding out why workers were not paid is a priority now,” she said.

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– Caxton News Service

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