The removal of waste in the City of Joburg and surrounding areas continue to be disrupted as Pikitup employees entered their second day of strike on Friday.
Samwu deputy provincial secretary in Gauteng, Nonceba Mbilini confirmed that six of their shop stewards have been charged but said the chargers were not yet clear to them as a union.
“This is just a ploy by Pikitup to shift focus from the agreements we made with them in December. They are trying to get back at us for the issues we raised with their director Amanda Nair,” said Mbilini.
A meeting between the regional Samwu office bearers and the provincial leadership was scheduled to take place on Friday afternoon to discuss a way forward.
While the strike continued, Pikitup issued a statement apologising to residents and businesses for disruptions.
“These disruptions are of great concern to us, our shareholder (the City of Johannesburg) but most importantly our residents and the business owners serviced by Pikitup on a daily basis,” said Pikitup.
This is a second strike by Pikitup employees in less than three months. The streets of Soweto became dump sites in December when workers downed tools demanding the removal of Nair.
