The SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), the country’s largest labour representative in local government, is up in arms after Ekurhuleni cut overtime pay for its 16,000-strong workforce by 50%.
The move by the metro, which is struggling financially, is part of the city’s revenue enhancement strategy.
Samwu Ekurhuleni regional secretary Tshephang Langa said the union condemned the decision to cut overtime pay and acting allowances and to introduce contracted services as a means to address service delivery.
“This decision is not only ill-considered but also a clear indication that the city is more interested in serving the interests of political elites and their associates rather than the residents of Ekurhuleni,” Langa said.
“We are convinced that the inclusion of contractors is nothing but a ploy by political parties to funnel municipal resources to their friends and allies, especially with local government elections looming next year.”
The metro’s adjustment budget, “which reduces employee-related costs and shifts focus to contracted services, is a slap in the face to municipal workers and the communities they serve”.
“The city’s claim that municipal employees are abusing overtime is a smokescreen to justify this reckless decision. Instead of addressing the root causes of inefficiencies, such as high vacancy rates and inadequate resource allocation, the city has chosen to scapegoat workers and outsource their responsibilities.”
Ekurhuleni comprises Clayville, Thembisa, Kempton Park, Germiston, Bedfordview, Alberton, Katlehong, Vosloorus, Daveyton, Benoni, Boksburg, Brakpan, Springs, KwaThema, Geduld, Dunnottar, Vorsterkroon, Nigel and Mackenzieville.
Ekurhuleni finance MMC Jongizizwe Dlabathi told Business Day on Tuesday that the council had been dealing with concerns about overtime for some time.
Dlabathi criticised the “culture of overtime” in the municipality, saying the practice should only be provided for in case of emergencies and “extraordinary events”.
“In quarter one, roughly R216m was spent on overtime ... Projections for the entire year are that we would have spent about R1bn,” Dlabathi said.
Dlabathi said the metro, which has an operating budget of R60bn and a capital budget of R2.9bn for 2024/2025, was not in a financial crisis, “but we admit the city is financially constrained. The income we are generating is quite limited. We have not been collecting revenue according to the set norms and standards”.
“This is something we raised in 2024 to say there is a challenge in revenue collection, and that’s something we need to look into.”
Langa said the metro’s finances are “already under strain, and outsourcing services will only lead to further financial mismanagement and corruption”.
“Samwu calls on the City of Ekurhuleni to immediately reverse this decision and engage in meaningful consultations with the union to address the challenges facing the municipality.
“We urge the city to prioritise the wellbeing of its employees and the communities they serve, rather than pursuing policies that will only lead to further instability and decline in service delivery.”
Dlabathi said itsd revenue enhancement plan included the metro undertaking presentations to communities to “resuscitate the culture of paying for municipal services, and there are positive spin-offs”.
When asked about the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department’s (EMPD’s) ability to issue fines and process them, he said: “The metro police are able to issue fines while we are overhauling the system to be internally controlled and managed.”
Business Day reported in February that Ekurhuleni was beset by a traffic management crisis that has resulted in the city unable to issue, process and capture traffic fines, though the acting metro police chief said everything was going well.
The DA had expressed concern that Ekurhuleni metro police officials were unable to perform their duties after the city’s contract with a road safety and fine management service provider expired in 2024.
However, EMPD acting chief Julius Mkhwanazi said the departments in-house system, known as the Integrated Law Enforcement Management System, went live on January 10 and that there was no need for panic.
Dlabathi said: “We have agreed as the mayoral committee that there must be a fundamental shift on how “we are using contracted services. We must reduce the use of outside contractors and invest in building our own internal capacity to attend to issues of service delivery.”
He said his 2025 budget speech to be tabled in May after the state of the city address, would “depart from contracted services to [building the metro’s] internal capacity” to deliver basic services to communities.
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