Staffers had gone on a go-slow due to a dispute over transportation.
“The employees wanted transport to and from work but as we are trying to bring costs down, and make the entity more efficient, this was one of the cost cutting exercises we looked at,” said Pikitup spokesperson Desireѐ Ntshingila.
A subsequent court ruling found that the municipality was not obliged to provide transport as this was never part of the contract between employees and the City of Johannesburg.
“Once the go-slow was announced we had to scramble to appoint another contractor and while rubbish was collected in some areas, obviously we couldn’t get everywhere.”
Pikitup has since instituted a no-work, no pay policy. “On 5 July we began issuing letters of suspension to striking employees. My plea is that residents have a little more patience with us.”
“We tried to do three rounds this weekend, but it wasn’t enough and we’ll send the contractor around until all the rubbish has been collected,” said Ntshingila.
