Pikitup has been making headlines this year, and not for providing excellent service. The entity has been struggling to find its feet in the new year and today, 7 February, another struggle reared its ugly head.
Pikitup facilities throughout Gauteng, among them the Pikitup waste facility on Anvil Road in Robertville, have been closed due to protests by various groups of Expanded Public Work Programme (EPWP) workers.
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At approximately 8am, the workers arrived at their jobs to find that they did not receive the wages they had been promised, leaving them without pay for two months. The EPWP workers were hired over the festive season to deal with the backlog the waste management entity was experiencing, and signed employment contracts for three months.
According to protesters on Anvil Road, the workers were not paid in January and were told it was because of issues with contracts and missing documents. They were allegedly promised their wages by today, 7 February, but were left disappointed yet again. All they got was an email with another excuse.
The EPWP workers decided that if they were not going to get paid, they were not going to work. “We have children to feed, rent to pay, and family to take care of,” one of the protesters said.
The group was predominantly made up of women, but a few men were also there expressing their anger. By 10am the protest was not violent, instead, the men and women expressed their anger and emotion through marching, chanting, and shouts of anger. They also blocked the depot gates, preventing any Pikitup trucks or employees from leaving the site.
The workers wanted the entity to know they would not stand down until their stipends were paid.They also expressed their anger at the lack of safety they have been exposed to working for the entity. No uniforms or proper safety clothes were given to the EPWP workers, so they needed to work in their everyday clothes, covered in Pikitup plastic bags.
According to Pikitup spokesperson, Muzi Mkhwanazi, the non-payment has been a result of several EPWP employees not submitting the required documentation on time. “This is despite Pikitup requesting the documentation from them on numerous occasions,” said Mkhwanazi. He continued by saying that the documents were only received after payroll closure.
At approximately 12.30pm the Record received reports from surrounding businesses that the protesters had blocked the roads around the facility and were burning tyres, although no injuries had been reported.
Passing pedestrians and motorists are urged to proceed with caution, and businesses in the area are asked to be vigilant.
Pikitup has made special arrangements with the City of Johannesburg’s Finance Department to make payments to the EPWP workers today. Mkhwanazi said that unfortunately, as with normal payroll payments, the money will not reflect immediately. He has assured the workers that the payments that do not reflect today, will reflect tomorrow.
Mkhwanazi concluded his statement by apologising for the disruption in the entity’s services, and promising residents that the entity was trying to get the matter sorted out as soon as possible. “Pikitup apologises for the inconvenience caused and reassures residents of the City that it is doing everything in its power to resolve the impasse and restore its services to normal.”
