MOKOPANE – These are the words of Jabu Mashamaite, Chairperson of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU), after he as well as several other employees were suspended on Tuesday with immediate effect.
The municipality has entered their third week of standstill with no services rendered as the employees once again downed their tools demanding that the benchmarking of salaries with the same grading scale as other municipalities be implemented. The municipality has recently served the workers with an interdict stating that if they are not going to work, they are not allowed on the premises and Mayor Parks Sebatjane has appealed numerous times to the workers to return.
Percy Nketsi, a representative of the worker force, Mashamaite, Philemon Mabueala, Samuel Serope, Boikanyo Bontsa and Joseph Kotlolo were suspended, however Nketsi said they misspelled his surname, so his suspension letter is not legal.
According to Mashamaite he was asked to “sell-out” the workers and when he refused, he was suspended. “This is a form of intimidation and will not be tolerated. There is not even a specific reason stated why we were suspended.”
The Acting Municipal Manger, Markus Mthombeni, said: “This is a sensitive matter and I would like to reserve my comment until the situation allows me to.” Sebatjane said: “At some point a solution will be found.” In the meantime the whole of Mogalakwena is suffering under the standstill. Bosveld received numerous calls from residents in Mahwelereng stating that they are concerned for their health as the streets are filled with rubbish.
The crippling effects of this standstill is endless and one can only hope that a resolution will be reached soon.
redaksie.bosvelder@nmgroup.co.za
