The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) members have given approval regarding the council’s decision to reintegrate municipal entities into the municipality.
When the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), councillor Herman Mashaba, initially suggested that the entities such as City Power, Johannesburg Water and Pikitup be reintegrated into the City, Samwu allegedly opposed it.
Samwu has now issued a statement saying they welcome the announcement by the mayor. “Currently, these municipal entities have developed anti- union policies resulting in poor industrial relations. They have also encouraged different and fragmented bargaining structures, further dividing people working for the same City. It is against this background that we believe the reintegration will standardise the bargaining structure and humanise industrial relations equally across the CoJ,” Samwu said.
They have also distanced themselves from any comments made by Simon Mathe who claims to be the general secretary of the union. “He has no mandate to speak on our behalf, particularly regarding this issue. He was removed as a national office bearer during March last year and replaced by Timon Tshimangadzo (acting president) and Thebeitsile Mokoto (acting general secretary), among other,” the union said.
Mashaba was delighted with this statement and said the decision by the union was a victory for workers and residents alike. “As the City, we are committed to working alongside workers to make it great again. The comments made by the union indicate that these opportunities do indeed exist. We maintain that there will be no job losses for ordinary workers. We seek only to bring the existing workforce and management into the City structures. We believe this will enhance serves throughout the CoJ,” he said.
Samwu concluded by saying, “During the process of integration, we will ensure our members do not lose their jobs and benefits”.
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