Workers from the Department of Safety within the West Rand District Municipality staged a massive strike outside the district building on 28 June.
This comes after the workers say that had more than half of their salaries were deducted for no apparent reason.
They opted to put their tools down until management addresses their pleas in the form of a refund.
According to the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) Regional Secretary Vuyisile Nqaba this means that the entire West Rand will be without emergency services until they receive their outstanding monies.
“The council imposed illegal deductions on these workers and for that, we will stage another massive strike in less than 21 days.
“What they did here is pathetic to say the least.
“They did not even bother consulting with the workers and this just means that they are in contravention of the Labour Relations Act and because of this, the communities will suffer as there will be no emergency services available to them,” says Nqaba.
Another worker aired her frustration stating that it ridiculous and very strange that they came to the conclusion after years of paying workers the same salary.
“They have been paying us the same amount over the years.
“How do they then suddenly decide that they are overpaying us?
“It just doesn’t work like that,” says the worker.
West Rand District Spokesperson Denise Mangope slams these allegations and says that the matter was tabled before the council on 20 June where the deductions were communicated with the local labour forum.
“Management recently discovered that there has been a consistent erroneous payment for work performed on Sundays and on public holidays.
“Such grievances were aired and a solution proposed however it is clearly not welcomed.
“It is without doubt that the West Rand Distsrict Municipality is committed to sustaining a harmonious relationship with its employees, therefore we will attend to the matter in the form of an investigation on the payment for Sunday and public holidays,” says Mangope.
He adds that the municipality is still paying employees salaries accordingly and the investigation will finally lay the issue to rest once concluded.
