FOLLOWING a series of talks that dragged on until the early hours of the morning, the City has decided to take the grievances of workers who want to be elevated to grade 10 to the central bargaining council to deliberate on the matter and make a ruling.
Legally, eThekwini does not have a jurisdiction on the matter because the bargaining council is the legitimate forum to handle this matter. City Manager Sipho Nzuza has appealed to workers to resume their duties with immediate effect and refrain from resorting to violence.
“After lengthy consultations between us and the union representatives we have decided to refer the matter to the central bargaining council for further negotiations and determination. Discussions at bargaining council will commence on Monday and are expected to be concluded in 30 days. We urge our employees to desist from violent strikes that cripple the operations of the city. Recently we had to spend a lot of resources and money to clean up the mess that was left behind by our workers in the central business district,” said Nzuza.
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The City has again apologised to all residents whose access to basic services have been disrupted. A principle of a no work no pay will apply and workers could face disciplinary action following the City obtaining an interdict making participation in this strike unlawful.
“EThekwini will always be committed to consult organised labour in compliance with the labour relations prescripts.”
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