MBOMBELA – Community services employees blocked the entrance to the civic centre yesterday morning when they embarked on protest action.
Some of the municipal workers from traffic, firefighting, security and disaster management parked their vehicles in front of the civic centre, keeping motorists trapped inside until about 10:00. This while a massive fire was threatening to spread in the CBD.
Some people parked their cars and had friends pick them up or walked to work. The vehicles also disrupted traffic outside the entrance on Nel Street. One employee, upon beholding the situation, remarked, “The municipality is going down the drain.”
Yet executive mayor Mr Sibusiso Mathonsi persuaded them to clear the entrance and received them in his office to discuss their grievances.
He said it was clearly a strike, which the employees denied.
Before his arrival they told Lowvelder that they had various grievances which had gone unaddressed. These included:
1.) Outstanding overtime pay for firefigthers
2.) Security being outsourced
3.) The traffic manager. Traffic chief Mr Eddie Prolius has been on special leave for over a year pending an investigation into allegations of racism.
Mr Noko Seanego, corporate services manager, said the decision whether he should return to work has been outstanding for long enough. “It must be finalised. There is a commitment from management to address this.”
4.) However, the employees’ biggest grievance is against Seanego. They claim that he irregularly appointed 24 specialised security workers last week.
Seanego said he was amazed that the employees had already received appointment letters on Friday and others were striking about it. “If the union observers are unhappy with the process, they must report it according to the processes.”
The union representatives who spoke to Lowvelder on condition of anonymity, said 41 candidates were shortlisted for what were originally 16 positions advertised in law enforcement.
They say three external candidates were added to the list after the deadline, and those who scored highest following the recruitment process, were discarded because they were not on the prescribed list received from “the organisation”, and two supervisors were appointed without being interviewed. They say some of those appointed did not meet the requirements, such as having a driver’s licence.
Seanego said he couldn’t comment on the matter as he did not directly interact with the process, but only received recommendations on appointments from the panel. He said all the protestors’ allegations should be investigated.
The acting municipal manager Mr Sello Ditshego has since then, apparently agreed to set up a meeting with the protestors.
View more pictures here.
