City of Tshwane fails in bid to stop municipal salary increases, union awaits pay bumps for employees

The city of Tshwane failed in a bid to have proposed salary increases for workers disapproved.

The city appealed to the South African Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC) to reject the municipal employees wage increases.

This comes after the municipality filed an exemption application with the council to avoid having to pay the salary increases of their employees.

The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) accused the municipality of dodging the agreement made by parties of the council in September 2021 to issue the increases.

SALGBC dismissed the municipality’s exemption appeal on 20 April 2022.

According to the union, the salary increases were supposed to have been issued from the first of July last year.

“Instead of paying workers their salary increases, the city dragged its feet until SAMWU approached the SALGBC for an enforcement order,” said SAMWU Regional Secretary Mpho Tladinyane.

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The union said they were astounded a day before the enforcement hearing to learn the city lodged an application with the council to be acquitted from paying the salary increases.

A senior panelist who heard the application on 8 April 2022 also noted the 6 months deliberate delay and the abuse of the process by the municipality.

“The panelist further indicated the action of the City has prejudiced employees all of whom are ratepayers and are affected by the increase in the cost of living and further that the City of Tshwane has undermined collective bargaining,” Tladinyane added.

Last attempt

 On 14 April, the city wrote to the council in a last bid to appeal the outcome of their exemption application, however this was rejected by SALGBC through the Office of the General Secretary.

According to the union the council cited they never agreed to an appeal process and the final decision would be “final and binding”.

“As SAMWU, our view has always been that the City is not acting in good faith, undermining collective bargaining and that it deliberately wants to deny municipal workers their salary and wage increases,” Tladinyane explained.

Following the appeal dismissal, the union urges the city to implement the salary increases awaited by the employees for 8 months now.

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