It’s back to work for dismissed Ugu employees
The South African Municipal Workers' Union said it is more than happy it has reached an agreement with the municipality.
Ugu workers who were dismissed in 2019 will be back at work on November 1
The 119 workers will return to their previous posts, and the contracts of the workers who were hired to replace them will be relooked at by the municipality.
The dismissed workers were allegedly accused of vandalising municipal infrastructure.
Mthandeni Ngcobo, chairperson of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) at Ugu said negotiations were held with the municipality which was facilitated by the ANC, and an agreement was reached that the workers return at the beginning of next month.
“They will also be back paid 12 months of the 32 months that they were out of jobs.”
Ngcobo was also among nine shop stewards who was dismissed in 2020, and was re-instated in September 2022.
Spokesperson for the municipality, France Zama confirmed that the workers will start work in November.
However, he said the contracts of the workers who were employed after the dismissals will be assessed.
“We will look into their contracts based on skills and other factors. I am not sure of the actual date of expiry of their contracts, but it will not end at the same time with the reinstatement of the dismissed workers.”
According to the KZN chairperson of Samwu, Sthembiso Dlamini, the municipality told the union that it has served notice to the contract workers.
It is unclear if the contract workers will be out of jobs or not, or when their contracts will end.
Ngcobo said the municipality must have stability, so it can deliver services to the people of Ugu.
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