Erwat workers return to work
The majority of workers will receive wage increment by the end of August
Following last week’s strike action over wage dispute, the Ekurhuleni Water Care Company (Erwat) employees have returned to work after an agreement had been reached.
This was after the two parties, the employees and employer, had met to ironed out all wage disputes that forced the workers to down tools.
Mpho Meso of the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) said the negotiations were tense, but in the end the union and company reached an agreement favourable to both parties.
“I can safely confirm that workers have returned to work and it is business as usual. On Wednesday, the chairman of the board, executive members and the managing director, met with the union where we presented our wage demands and negotiated in good faith.
“Even though the employer had its own wage scale, after a lengthy discussions the union won the day as management acknowledged that there were mistakes and promised to fix the matter by the end of August,” said Meso.
He said the first phase towards redress would start immediately with a wage hike being implemented.
“The majority of our workers will receive wage increment by the end of August,” stressed Meso.
Erwat has over 800 full time employees.
Meso said that the second phase of the adjustment to wages would be based on a principle of equal pay for equal work. This, he said, would be implemented in November. However, this will be based on experience and qualifications.
“It was agreed that the chairperson of the board is to convene a special board meeting to approve all the wage adjustments as discussed and agreed upon. The board chairperson is committed to have these changes implemented. The second phase is expected to be finalised by the end of November,” concluded Meso.
Speaking to The Tembisan, the company’s managing director, Tumelo Gopane, confirmed the matter had been resolved and the strike called off.
“Yes, the matter was indeed resolved and all our employees returned to work as expected. I am happy that we were able to quickly find amicable solutions, as we are the only municipal waste water company that also operates 24 hours. Everything is back to normal now,” confirmed Gopane.
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