Fill vacant posts or face strike action, says unions
The two dominant labour unions at the Makhado Municipality have issued an ultimatum to the political leadership to start filling vacant posts within the municipality immediately.
LIMPOPO – The two dominant labour unions at the Makhado Municipality have issued an ultimatum to the political leadership to start filling vacant posts within the municipality immediately.
They believe that the political game-playing within the ruling party affects service delivery and can lead to more corruption.
On December 10 employees affiliated to the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and those affiliated to the 15barricaded the entrance to the municipality’s offices in Louis Trichardt. The protesters did not allow any services to be performed at the municipality and no-one, except municipal workers, was allowed to enter the building.
Workers’ main grievance seems to be the council’s reluctance to fill vacant posts and make permanent appointments in key positions. Currently, all the municipality’s senior managers are acting in a temporary capacity. The position of municipal manager has been vacant since November 2020.
The trade unions complain that while the infighting between the factions within the ANC in Vhembe continues, nothing is being done to fill crucial positions. A wait-and-see game is played, where the winning faction seemingly wants to bring in members affiliated with them while the unions allege that the newly elected councillors want to employ friends and relatives in the vacant posts.
According to the secretary of the local Samwu branch, Tsanwani Raduvha, many people work in an acting capacity in vacant posts.
“Some employees have worked like this for almost six years without being remunerated accordingly. The municipality has more than 100 vacant positions, some of which have already been advertised in the media. The newly elected councillors are trying to stop the process of filling vacant posts, while waiting for the outcome of the ANC’s regional conference.” This conference has in the meanwhile concluded.
During the protest, some union members also alleged that councillors who stopped the process of interviewing candidates were receiving bribes.
“We are fed-up with corruption and nepotism in this municipality. Workers must be employed according to their credentials, not according to favours. We are going to fight this,” Raduvha said.
Emmanuel Mulaudzi, a local community leader and Imatu member, also voiced his dissatisfaction with the current situation during the protest.
“We will close the entrance until our concerns are addressed. There are several concerns regarding the interview process and the hiring of people,” he said.
The strike was temporarily put on hold after the Mayor Samuel Munyai, arrived and discussed the issue with the unions. The municipality’s spokesperson, Louis Bobodi, said the mayor had addressed workers and promised that the process to fill vacant posts would continue on Tuesday, December 14.
The two union representatives said that the date of the meeting with the municipal officials had been postponed to Friday, December 17. The two unions reiterated the threat that, should the process to fill vacant posts not continue, they would go on strike.
The meeting was postponed to December 22.
