The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) has called on municipalities to ensure waste collectors and removers are given adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and to ensure these employees are not negligently exposed to the virus.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Papikie Mohale, national spokesperson for the union, said there had further been reports of several municipalities which had threatened workers who refused to work because the employer had not put in place adequate health and safety measures to protect employees.
“We reiterate our call that municipal workers should refuse to work if and when they feel the working environment is not safe and that they are negligently being exposed to the virus,” said Mohale.
“The Occupational Health and Safety Act clearly indicates that it is the responsibility of the employer to ‘provide and maintain as far as reasonable and practical a work environment that is safe and without risk to the health of employees’. This Act further prohibits employers from victimising or dismissing employees when they refuse to work in unsafe environments.
“As SAMWU, we thank our members who have heeded the call to ensure the continuation of essential services to South Africans, in particular the poor, who need them the most. We further thank municipal workers for rolling up their sleeves and putting service delivery before their health and safety, including those of their families,” said Mohale.
“We have in the past days received reports from our structures on the ground that municipalities have largely complied with the regulations of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in ensuring that workers are provided with the requisite PPE for the safe execution of their duties.
“Our members have also reported instances wherein they have been working overtime without any plans or commitment of remuneration by the employer. Further to this, there has been no indication by municipalities as to how workers who are on the forefront of ensuring that services are not interrupted would be paid in terms of danger allowance.
“We appreciate the fact that we are not operating in a normal situation and that most agreements we have with municipalities never envisaged the situation South Africa finds itself in. We have, therefore, advised our members that they should continue working and that these items would be negotiated with affected municipalities as soon as normality returns.”
