THOUSANDS of municipal workers have threatened to down tools following a collapse in wage negotiations.
Wage talks between the South African Local Government Association (Salga) and unions, which have been ongoing for months, failed to reach an agreement last week, paving the way for a nationwide strike involving all 257 municipalities in the country.
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), representing the majority of municipal workers, has declared a dispute following the deadlock.
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‘Samwu did not enter the negotiations with the intention of going on strike, but to establish job security for exploited Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) and Community Works Programme (CWP) workers who are based at municipalities.
‘We went into these negotiations to demand decent salary and wager increases for the country’s municipal workers,’ the union said in a statement.
Workers demand, among others, a R4 000 salary increase, a R15 000 sectoral minimum wage, absorption of all EPWP and CWP workers, and 25% employer contributions towards pension funds.
Salga proposed a 4% across-the-board salary increase, linked to a multi-year agreement, but this was rejected by unions.
‘The last round of negotiations ended abruptly on day one when one of the parties at the negotiating table, Samwu, surprisingly announced it had no interest in continuing with negotiations and intends to declare a dispute and requested a strike certificate,’ said Salga spokesperson, Sivuyile Mbambato.
The association has since opted for a Section 74 referral in terms of the Labour Relations Act to ensure service delivery is not interrupted amid efforts to find a solution.
‘Employees designated to essential services are prohibited from participating in strike action according to the Labour Relations Act.
‘In such circumstances, the dispute can only be resolved through interest arbitration as opposed to strike action,’ said Mbambato.
