A deal has been struck between eThekwini Municipality and the City’s former contract plumbers, ending months of deadlock in negotiations and paving the way for plumbers to resume work under new main contractors, reports Berea Mail.

The City and the plumbers were at loggerheads over payment delays, rates of pay and the new system of filing invoices, among other issues, which left many plumbers unpaid. Over a period of 14 months, several protests were staged by the plumbers, creating a backlog of service-delivery complaints.

Municipal spokesperson Senzelwe Mzila said the impasse had been resolved following months of intensive engagements and the intervention of eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba.

On Saturday, (August, 22) the aggrieved plumbers met with the mayor, the chairperson of the Trading Services Committee, councillor Mdu Nkosi, and the head of Water and Sanitation, Siyanda Mwelase, which led to the resolution of the dispute.

The issues stemmed from the previous contract being declared non-compliant with the Municipal Finance Management Act, as the contract had been designed before the legislation came into effect. To regularise the process, the Municipality was required to follow proper supply chain management procedures, including advertising a tender.

“This process resulted in five companies being appointed as main contractors to provide plumbing services,” said Mzila.

The plumbers also raised issues about the rates payable to them and their recruitment by the main contractors from the existing database.

“At the meeting, all parties agreed that the hourly rates for the three categories of plumbers will remain unchanged,” said Mzila. “The parties further agreed that the 15% management fee will no longer be deducted from the hourly rate of plumbers.

“An agreement was also reached that the five main contractors will source plumbers from the existing pool of 1886 plumbers. No plumber will be permitted to work on municipal infrastructure without the necessary accreditation.”

The current rate for Category A plumbers is R592.51 per hour, while Category B plumbers are paid R353.01 per hour and Category C plumbers are paid R238.60 per hour.

Recruitment for the first shift of 712 plumbers has commenced, with 337 plumbers already recruited from the database. A further 375 plumbers are still required to complete the first shift.

Xaba thanked the plumbers for agreeing to the terms and embracing the new model.

“I am happy that we have now found one another, as we have resolved the issues the plumbers were complaining about. This latest development paves the way for them to resume their duties under the five main contractors and start addressing the service delivery backlog,” said Xaba.

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