Municipal officials stepped in when workers at Mayfield, east of Grahamstown, downed tools on Friday.
Municipal officials stepped in when workers at Mayfield, east of Grahamstown, downed tools on Friday.
The workers, hired to complete the second phase of the housing project, complained about their pay, the fact that they had no drinking water or toilets and that the contractor failed to pay them on time.
Makana spokesperson Mncedisi Boma told Grocott's Mail that the workers, paid R10 an hour, had demanded to be paid R20.50 an hour.
"This meant that they were paid R80 a day. They also complained that skilled workers should be paid more than general workers," Boma said.
"We went to the site to speak to their bosses because although this is not our project it is our interest that the work must continue at the project,” Boma said.
“We managed to negotiate with the contractor and we agreed that the general workers will get R110 a day and the skilled workers will get R120,” he said.
A representative of Uphahla Building Construction told Grocott's Mail yesterday that matters had been resolved with the labourers. “They never really stopped working. They just complained about the rates," Boma said.
"The toilet and water issues were sorted last week. We agreed in principle that we will increase the rates because the people are laying the pipes – until the end of May latest.”
He explained that the rates don't apply once work on the houses starts.
“It is going to be R80 per day and that is an acceptable rate.”
The labourers are from Makana and are employed at the site for a few months. The project is expected to be finished next year.
The Uphahla representative, whose name Grocott's Mail has not been able to establish, said the cost of the project would increase because of putting up the wages.
Boma said they had also agreed that the workers would receive back-pay from December.
“We take this project very seriously," Boma said.
"We want to facilitate a workable solution so that the projects is not delayed,” he said.
Once the dispute had been resolved, the workers went back to work on the same day.
