The country’s largest municipal workers’ union, the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu), has called on the City of Tshwane to honour a 2021/22 wage deal of 3.5% the metro was exempted from implementing, as parties look to return to the bargaining council where the exemption application will be heard again next week.
This follows acting labour court judge Sean Snyman’s ruling on the capital city’s wage exemption applications regarding the 3.5% wage increase for 2021 and a 5.4% pay hike for 2023.
For the 2021 wage agreement, Snyman ruled the metro’s exemption application must be heard again before another exemption panellist to be appointed by the SA Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC). Regarding the 2023 wage deal, the acting judge said the capital city had to be granted exemption from implementing the pay deal.
The labour court judgment delivered in May came almost six months after Samwu, the biggest union in the local government sector, representing 160,000 of the country’s estimated 350,000 municipal workers, ended its four-month illegal work stoppage in Tshwane in November 2024, during which municipal property such as garbage trucks and other infrastructure was vandalised and destroyed.
Samwu members were demanding the metro implement a 5.4% wage increase — the last leg of a three-year wage agreement signed at the SALGBC in 2021.
The city, which had refused to negotiate with the union, argued it did not have the R600m required for the agreement and unsuccessfully applied to the SALGBC for an exemption. It then approached the labour court.
Samwu Tshwane regional secretary Donald Monakisi said the union and the municipality met under the auspices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration in June to try to reach consensus on the 3.5% wage deal.
“The SALGBC has scheduled the exemption hearing for July 21. In anticipation of this, the parties recognised the need for prior engagements aimed at narrowing the issues in dispute and exploring the possibility of reaching a settlement, which could subsequently be formalised as an award of the bargaining council,” Monakisi said.
“To this end, two meetings were held between Samwu and the City of Tshwane on June 10 and June 23, respectively. While consensus could not be reached during these initial engagements, both parties agreed on the importance of continued dialogue prior to the scheduled hearing.”
The union, said Monakisi, remained committed to the engagements in the hope of securing an amicable resolution in the best interest of workers.
“The union remains relentless in its position that the 3.5% salary increase, owed to workers since 2021, must be honoured. The prolonged delay in payment has imposed significant financial strain on municipal workers, who continue to provide essential services under increasingly difficult conditions.
“In this regard, Samwu’s legal team is diligently preparing for the exemption hearing, with the aim of securing a just outcome for our members,” he said.
“Additionally, members are advised that Samwu has formally lodged an appeal against judge Snyman’s ruling on the 5.4% salary increase matter. We await the allocation of a date by the Labour Appeal Court in this regard.
“It must be emphasised that the City of Tshwane is on record confirming the availability of funds to honour its obligations to employees. Given the acute financial pressures facing workers, Samwu calls on the City to act with integrity and urgency by prioritising the wellbeing of its workforce. Our members have carried the burden of austerity for far too long and it is time the City of Tshwane does right by them.”
The Tshwane metro had not replied to a request for comment by the time of publication.
In July 2020, the Tshwane 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, including Samwu, 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.
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