Senior city officials were trapped in the city hall by protesting municipal workers this week. Claiming their bosses had violated an agreement they reached after a strike in April, the workers disrupted Tuesday's Council meeting, where the City's new budget was being passed.
Senior city officials were trapped in the city hall by protesting municipal workers this week. Claiming their bosses had violated an agreement they reached after a strike in April, the workers disrupted Tuesday's Council meeting, where the City's new budget was being passed.
Mayor Zamuxolo Peter, acting municipal manager Themba Mnguni and Speaker Rachel Madinda-Isaac were detained inside the city hall by the protesters. Chanting songs, the group forced councillors and other officials to leave the council chambers.
In their mid-afternoon move, the group trashed parts of the city hall, ripping up Council agendas and flinging rubbish.
Police were called in when the situation became volatile. They removed the protesters from the city hall building.
The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) had applied for a march before the disruption.
One version of the workers' grievances was that they were unhappy about deductions from their salaries as a result of the no work no pay rule.
This was applied after the April strike.
A media statement from Mnguni said the mayoral committee, senior management and the Mayor had met with Samwu on Wednesday. It emerged during that meeting that the workers' unhappiness was the result of a labour dispute earlier this year.
It was decided that normal procedures for making such arrangements had not been followed, resulting in deductions from workers' June pay checks. Pay day was on 25 June.
Mnguni said the municipality affirmed its commitment to handling labour-related matters strictly in accordance with guiding laws and regulations. "These spell out how conflict-resolution is to be handled, making use of the Local Labour Forum as an internal structure, guided by Salga Bargaining Council agreements," Mnguni said.
Mnguni warned that the municipality will investigate cases of failure to perform duties and any criminal acts that have taken place in relation to the unrest.
Samwu secretary Lindewa Faltein told Grocott's Mail yesterday that their main grievance was the municipality's failure to keep to an agreement reached after a strike in April.
"We agreed that there will be a committee with two people from the union. Since April that committee has never met. It is now June and workers know nothing about the financial state of the municipality," said Faltein.
