Security guards’ insourcing battle continues
EFF and ANC councillors caused disruptions late into a council meeting yesterday after the motion to insource the guards was unsuccessful.
Disgruntled security guards contracted to the metro have vowed to continue their fight after the motion for their absorption was dismissed at yesterday’s council meeting.
The guards protect Tshwane metro property but work for service providers to the city as contractors.
In 2018, the metro resolved to employ the 4 000 guards directly but to date only phase 1, the employment of 1 302, has been completed.
The project was then scrapped.
After several protests, the metro put the project back on the agenda on Monday for a vote on whether to revive it or not.
The motion was unsuccessful leading to EFF and ANC councillors disrupting the meeting in protest.
Guards say they don’t want to work for private companies anymore because of numerous problems including late or no salary payments, as well as ineffective working tools and unworkable conditions.
Earlier this month, they stayed away from work after the metro had failed to respond to their most recent memorandum handover.
The guards claimed to have frequently engaged with political parties and that they have promised to vote in favour of the move.
Group spokesperson Hlengiwe Ngwenya said they are most disappointed in ActionSA not voting in favour despite undertaking to.
“We are so hurt and disappointed because they promised us, when they called us to Princess Park, [ActionSA president Herman] Mashaba promised that they’d vote for the motion but yesterday they didn’t,” Ngwenya said.
The security guards had gathered at Church Square at 21:00 on March 26, the night before the council meeting, then march to arrive at Tshwane House at 22:00 for a vigil until the meeting began.
Ngwenya says that the motion was only brought up around 20:00 and discussed until 22:00.
“Only ANC and EFF voted for that motion, but ActionSA didn’t, none of them, all their councillors and PR councillors. They promised us, but they lied to us telling us that they were the ones insourcing people in Johannesburg and we should vote for them and we believed in them.”
Ngwenya also took aim at an ActionSA statement explaining the decision, “words do not interest us”.
“Now they are trying to justify themselves with this statement that they wrote, trying to explain why they didn’t vote with the EFF, no, we don’t want that. We wanted their vote inside the council.”
In that statement ActionSA Gauteng premier candidate Funzi Ngobeni said the party did not vote for the EFF motion because it was a duplicate of the existing motion brought by ActionSA last year.
“ActionSA did not vote against insourcing at yesterday’s council sitting and in fact unequivocally supports it, having strongly advocated [for] and pursued it in various municipalities throughout the country including Ekurhuleni, eThekwini and Johannesburg. It was the duplication of process that was refused and not the merits of insourcing,” Ngobeni said.
Ngobeni said the insourcing of the guards and cleaners was his party’s precondition for entry into the coalition and accused the EFF of political grandstanding.
“The coalition has made progress on the issue of insourcing. We have received the initial report on the cost of insourcing and the business case will be submitted to the coalition at the end of April, as this will form part of the budget discussion in May,” he said.
“We therefore assert as ActionSA that political gimmicks, opportunistic and disrespectful stunts that take advantage of desperate security guards for political point-scoring are not the answer.”
In its own statement, the EFF expressed disappointment at the rejection of the motion, stating that it was not just a matter of policy but of moral obligation.
“The refusal of ActionSA and the DA to endorse the second phase of insourcing leaves 2 696 guards in a state of uncertainty and vulnerability, subjecting them to continued exploitation and instability under contract employment,” the statement read.
The EFF called the move an injustice to the those employed in an essential field and called on council members to put their political differences aside and unite behind the workers.
The party also accused ActionSA of political grandstanding.
“The EFF condemns the opportunistic politicking by ActionSA regarding the insourcing of the Tshwane security and cleaning personnel, promising to establish a special committee and pledging commitment to insourcing during meetings with workers while conveniently seeking to position itself as champions of worker rights is not only disingenuous but also a blatant attempt to deceive and mislead the very individuals it claims to support.”
EFF Tshwane leader Obakeng Ramabodu was very vocal on the matter on social media X, stating the EFF will table another motion on the matter on April 25.
“The reason we, the EFF Tshwane, want the council to table a motion is because we are currently busy with the integrated development planning (IDP) and public participation for the new financial year. We want to include the insourcing of security guards, we don’t care who comes with,” Ramabodu tweeted.
“The EFF in Tshwane will table another insourcing motion on April 25. We will continue engaging different interested parties.”
Ngwenya shared similar sentiments, stating the guards have no intention of backing down and will meet the council yet again next month.
“We are still going back there on the streets, on the 24th we’ll be there again. We are going to sleep there again until ActionSA understands what we want. We want a better life so we are going to be there,” Ngwenya said.
The metro is yet to respond to the guards’ demands, including:
– Insourcing of the remaining security workers into the metro that are currently working for private companies
– Compliance checks on companies regarding the Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1997
– An end to late payment
– A sit-down meeting with the mayor, deputy mayor or city manager.
watch here: https://www.tiktok.com/@leonkruyshaar13/video/7351140419679309061?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Watch here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1773065943268122886
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