Stories have been going around town that uThukela District Municipality workers were on strike, and that was the reason why so many water and sewage leaks around town were not attended to.
According to uThukela communications manager Jabulani Mkhonza, this was not the case and the workers were not on strike. Mkhonza was approached for comment on the matter and had the following to say…
“I would like to clarify that there was no strike by our employees, as alleged. The fact of the matter is that the said employees had some concerns regarding the Covid-19 situation. Their concerns revolved around the issue of personal protective equipment (PPE) supplied by the employer. Employees were supplied with PPE from May 18. Any other issues were related to matters that were discussed with organised labour.”
The municipality had various challenges to deal with from the week of May 4.
On Monday, May 4, organised labour communicated with management through the acting municipal manager, alleging that the municipality does not adhere to Covid-19 Occupational Health & Safety Measures. Other allegations were that:
– There was no screening at the entrance, but instead inside offices;
– Employees were working without appropriate PPE; and
– The confirmed Covid-19 case of an employee who was in the premises was not communicated to employees through the relevant structures and resulted in panic.
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Subsequently, organised labour said that from Tuesday, May 5, no employee would perform duties without the proper PPE. The following day, organised labour had another meeting with management, where it was resolved that staff members would receive outstanding PPE on Thursday, May 7.
The majority of the Water Department workers were affected and as a result, water supply was disrupted.
Sewer teams received respirators on Monday, May 11.
Mkhonza added that, “It must be mentioned that sewer spillage and blockage backlog accumulated during that process, and they had numerous complaints from business owners and communities. Things are back to normal right now.”
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