MEMBERS of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in Ekurhuleni will embark on widespread protest action in the City on December 9.
Their grievances include the delay of the implementation of a court order against the city manager and ongoing union bashing by creating an unconducive environment for shop stewards to engage and protect worker issues.
Themba Prince Ntuli, regional secretary of SAMWU, said members’ employment contracts had been terminated for various reasons and they duly left the service of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.
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“The same is expected of the city manager when his contract of employment, as indicated by the court, came to an end on the 17th May, 2012. This has since been confirmed by a High Court judgement which found that the city manager’s employment contract with the municipality is invalid,” Ntuli said in a statement.
“In 2013, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality’s police department established a peace corps volunteer programme. The participants were drawn from the 101 wards and about 800 were recruited.
“The employer has since terminated the contracts of 100 peace corps members despite the stated intention of the programme. One of the stated intentions of the programme was to ‘fill future vacancies in the metro police and other council departments where candidates qualify’.
“To the union’s surprise metro police officer trainee positions were advertised and a very small number of the current and former peace corps were shortlisted. SAMWU wants these 100 employment contracts to be re-instated in keeping with the sustainable jobs campaign of the union. The union also demands a moratorium on the remaining peace corps.
“This campaign also seeks to address the plight of the Lungile Mtshali programme employees who have since left the service of the municipality,” Ntuli said.
“The exploitation of workers in any form will not be tolerated hence the fight for the sustainable jobs campaign which seeks to bring to an end to this exploitation.”
