Johannesburg - Johannesburg waste-management company Pikitup on Thursday paid salaries to its workers as the norm despite them being on strike for most of this month.
About 4 000 Pikitup workers affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) went on an unprotected strike since March 9, demanding wage hikes from R6 000 to R10 000 a month and that their boss, Amanda Nair, step down.
Read: Pikitup won't pay you back
Samwu’s regional deputy secretary, Paul Tlhabang, confirmed that their members had been paid their March salaries on Thursday, but said he could not confirm whether all 4 000 of them got paid, or if any money for days not worked was deducted.
“Yes, our members were paid their salaries though I’m not sure if they were paid in full. Samwu’s leadership today will meet Pikitup at the Metro Centre after which we will report to our members who are waiting at our Head Office. We want to bring this matter to finality,” Tlhabang said, adding that there was no protest scheduled for Thursday.
The City of Johannesburg had this month paid R1 million a day to private contractors since the most recent Pikitup strike began, while also paying Pikitup workers for staying away from work.
On Wednesday, Pikitup said it would not be reimbursing residents the monthly service fee for refuse collection despite being unable to fully provide the service as the matter was complicated.
Pikitup spokesperson, Jacky Mashapu, ignored calls and did not respond to questions put to him by email.
Member of the Mayoral Committee responsible for the Environment and Infrastructure Services portfolio, Tshidi Mfikoe, was also not available as she was on leave.
Since the strike began, Samwu members have ignored pre-dismissal notices from Pikitup, and calls by their national office to return to work, and two interdicts from the Labour Court as the unprotected strike did not comply with the provisions of Chapter 4 of the Labour Relations Act.
Instead, the workers have been embarking in protests in Johannesburg CBD and Braamfontein, leaving a trail of destruction of municipal property and heaps of trash along the city streets.
Samwu shop stewards linked to the strike were currently facing charges of gross misconduct for allegedly orchestrating or inciting their Pikitup colleagues to embark on or take part in the February 4-5 strike.
They were this week appearing before the disciplinary committee charged with gross misconduct for embarking on illegal work stoppages in December 2015, February 2016 and March 2016.
The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) had been roped in to escort Pikitup trucks and temporary workers in a bid to prevent attacks against them during the strike which had forced refuse collection to be deemed an essential service.
Last year, Pikitup workers bore the brunt of the no-work, no-pay policy for the unprotected industrial action and their salaries were docked for days not worked.
ANA