DA Tshwane executive mayor Cilliers Brink, city manager Johann Mettler and SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) leaders are expected to meet again for talks on Monday in a bid to resolve the pay strike that began last week.
Samwu members marched to Tshwane House on Wednesday, demanding that the metro implement a 5.4% pay increase reached in the SA Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC) in 2021.
Samwu, the biggest local government union representing about 160,000 of the country’s nearly 300,000 municipal workers, has urged the metro to comply with the order, but to no avail.
Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the municipality noted the bargaining council’s compliance order: “It is important to note that the recognised labour unions in the city — Imatu [Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union] and Samwu — were both informed in a recent meeting with the city manager, Mr Johann Mettler, and at a subsequent local labour forum meeting, that the city was unable to pay the salary and wage increases due to its liquidity challenges.”
Bokaba said the metro made it “abundantly clear” that it was unable to implement the pay increases as it was unaffordable. It was busy with the filing of an application for exemption to pay the increases.
The exemption application will be filed by August 10. Cilliers said metro finances need to be improved. “If we make sufficient strides in the collection of revenue and the workforce assists us in the fight against corruption, we will reconsider our position on the nonpayment of salary and wage increases. This is not a shut door. Let’s work hard and stabilise our finances first.”
Updating union members on Saturday, Samwu Tshwane acting regional secretary Precious Theledi said: “Samwu leadership in Tshwane, accompanied by the provincial and national leadership, had a meeting with the executive mayor and the municipal manager on Saturday. The purpose of the meeting was to propose the modalities on implementing the payments for the 5.4% and 3.5% salary increase as stipulated in the wage and salary collective agreement.”
Theledi said the metro asked for a formal meeting on Monday afternoon. Members would be informed of its outcome, and they would be addressed on the way forward on Monday. “We hope this will assist the region in addressing challenges that are facing workers daily,” said Theledi.
In July 2020, the metro implemented a 6.25% pay rise that increased the city’s wage bill by R45m a month. The 6.25% increase was part of the last leg of a three-year wage hike agreement signed at the SALGBC in 2018.
In August 2020, the capital city bowed to pressure from unions to implement a benchmarking agreement aimed at putting Tshwane municipal employees’ wages on par with those of other top municipalities.
It was said at the time that the decision was likely to put extra strain on metro finances already under pressure as residents, companies and government departments struggled to pay for services during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Samwu later opposed a vetting process to remove ghost employees from the payroll. The decision to withhold pay of more than 7,000 workers came two weeks after Tshwane agreed to implement the benchmarking agreement, which was set to cost the city R300m.
Tshwane chief of staff Jordan Griffiths confirmed Brink and Mettler would meet the Samwu leadership on Monday afternoon to seek a solution.
On Friday, the metro obtained a labour court interdict declaring unlawful and illegal the protest action by Samwu members “who intimidated their nonstriking colleagues and caused damage to property”, Bokaba said.
“The striking workers are interdicted and restrained from performing any acts of destruction of the City of Tshwane’s property and any private or public property, or from performing acts of intimidation to any of the city’s employees. A total of 15 employees have been arrested and charged with public violence, and are facing three internal charges which may lead to their dismissal,” he said.
mkentanel@businesslive.co.za
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