Tshwane mayor meets unions, aims to avert strikes

It was all systems go this week as municipal worker unions reassured the newly elected Tshwane mayor of “their support and desire to work with the metro’s political leadership” – regardless of political affiliation.

This came after Tshwane mayor Randall Williams on Monday met with the leadership of the two major unions in the metro, namely the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Traders Union (Imatu).

“I felt that it was important to meet with the union leaders as quickly as possible once I took office, as it is critical to maintain a harmonious labour environment in the metro,” Williams said.

“We focused on how we can ensure that going forward the metro’s work is not disrupted.”

Mayoral spokesperson Jordan Griffiths said some of the issues raised by the unions included staffing matters in some departments and the management of some of the city’s strategic assets.

Crucially, the pay increase agreed upon by the administrators, to be paid to metro officials in December, was discussed.

“This was tied to whether or not the city achieves a 95% collection rate,” Griffiths said.

He said because the collection rate of the metro had been significantly lower for months, there would be ongoing discussions about his matter.

He said the mayor also planned to optimise working arrangements with the unions, to ensure that more work gets done and strikes are kept to a minimum.

“This will be managed through continuous engagement and communication.”

“The Local Labour Forum [LLF] is one such structure in the metro which has political representation and engages directly with the unions. If this is managed well, it can ensure that labour unrest is prevented in the future.

“As the country likely prepares to move out of lockdown, it will be crucial that all services are stabilised going forward.”

This article first appeared on Rekord and was republished with permission.

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