UPDATE: Alex’s Rotary Grounds Housing Project back in operation
ALEXANDRA – It's back to work for the Rotary Grounds Housing Project in Alexandra following what was described as a 'cordial' meeting with SMMes on the project.
UPDATE: 18 March, 1.50pm
Workers and their SMME bosses at the Rotary Grounds Housing Project in Alexandra are back at work following what was described as ‘a cordial meeting’ to resolve demands made by the sub-contracted SMMEs on the project.
The return to work on 18 March was confirmed by the spokesperson for the eight SMME contractors on the site, Sarah Modiba, who said they decided to give the management of Joshco [Johannesburg Social Housing Company] the benefit of the doubt and to make good on their promises given at the meeting.
At the meeting on 17 March, Modiba said Joshco management said they could only take the concerns raised by the SMMEs back to their superiors and then report back on 25 March.
“If they do not come back with feedback that resolves or addresses our concerns, we will immediately down tools and embark on yet another protest action. We decided to give them the benefit of the doubt to see if they will be able to keep their word of finding an amicable solution to our grievances,” Modiba telephonically told Alex News.
Modiba said they had suspended the strike in good faith but would not hesitate to call on the workers to down their tools if ‘we are not satisfied with the kind of feedback they will bring back to us’.
UPDATE: 16 March, 10am
The outstanding SMME contractor payments at Rotary Grounds Housing Project in Alexandra have been settled and workers have been paid but the site remains closed.
This was confirmed by the spokesperson for the eight SMME contractors on site Sarah Modiba of SMD Trading and Projects, who said the outstanding payments were made late on 11 March and workers were paid the following day.
Modiba said the site would remain closed until project owners came to the negotiation table to discuss some of the outstanding issues which were part of the package of grievances that ultimately led to the downing of tools.
Modiba said the main contractor on the site, SKS Business Solutions and project owners Joshco [Johannesburg Social Housing Company], which is an entity of City of Johannesburg, promised to hold discussions with the SMME contractors on 17 March.
“Depending on the outcomes of this meeting, we expect a decision on the re-opening of the site to be taken at this meeting. For now, the site will remain closed until our Wednesday meeting.”
Modiba said the sub-contractors were happy that payment had finally been made as ‘we needed the money to also pay our workers their wages that have been outstanding since January’.
Among the grievances, she said, was the lack of a CLO [community liaison officer] for the project. “This is the middleman between the main contractor, sub-contractors and project owners Joshco and the ward councillor.
“We wonder how and where do all these partners, especially the project owners and councillor, get their reports from on the progress of the project and grievances from other parties if they do not have a CLO on site.”
Other grievances included the alleged failure to fund SMME contractors to enable them to have a cash flow to buy materials and pay their employees.
Initial Report: March 10, 11am
Protests at the Rotary Grounds Housing Project because of a dispute between sub-contracting SMMEs and the main contractor which started on 10 March are still continuing.
The status quo will stay the same until the powers that be come down from their ivory towers to talk. This was the view of the leader and spokesperson of the eight SMME contractors Sarah Modiba, who said despite the fact that the main contractor had been locked in meetings since 10 March with Joshco (Johannesburg Social Housing Company)], an entity of the City of Johannesburg which is spearheading the project, no feedback has been given to the SMME sub-contractors and their workers.
“I can confirm that we understood that soon after our protest broke out on 10 March, [the main contractor] and Joshco management were locked in meetings but those meetings have not yielded anything as we have not been given any feedback on the outcomes of these meetings.
“For as long as they do not recognise us as serious stakeholders, this whole debacle will continue until we all open our eyes and engage. We believe that we are serious stakeholders who [deserve] to be engaged and we will not relent on our protest until they come to address us.
“We shall be here on the streets and protesting until our grievances are given the urgent attention they deserve. We want them to know that we’re not joking if that’s what they think,” Modiba told Alex News telephonically this morning.
