Sandiso Phaliso and ANA
PEOPLE and members of the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) marched to the Civic Centre yesterday demanding that the City employ expanded public works programme (EPWP) workers permanently.
Samwu provincial secretary Mikel Khumalo said mayor Patricia de Lille had agreed that EPWP workers would be permanently employed when posts became vacant, but City spokesperson Priya Reddy denied this.
“We signed an agreement with mayor De Lille but her departments are undermining her. We believe the nature of these jobs is not projects,” said Khumalo.
“There are services that should be provided on an ongoing basis and the nature of the work is permanent.”
Khumalo said the City’s decision to roll out major tenders to private companies had undermined prior agreements.
About 300 people took part in the illegal march.
EPWP worker Xolani Qakamfana said representatives of the workers had a scheduled meeting with De Lille yesterday and the rest of the workers decided to picket outside the Civic Centre while the meeting was ongoing.
“Unfortunately, we were told that the mayor is overseas and the meeting could not take place,” said Qakamfana.
He said in June De Lille had agreed that EPWP workers would be employed permanently, “but we realised that there have been 100 vacant posts that were filled since that meeting, and none of the EPWP workers were included”.
“The people have come to show their frustration because the mayor made a promise and she has not adhered to it,” said Qakamfana.
But the City says employing EPWP workers permanently is impossible because there is a national policy stating that the EPWP workers should work for a period of time and then give other unemployed individuals the opportunity of employment.
Reddy said: “At no point during our extensive negotiations with Samwu over the last three months has the City agreed to make EPWP workers fulltime staff members.”
Reddy said there was a national agreement between the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), government, unions and the private sector that EPWP jobs were temporary jobs. “That is the way it is all over the country and Cape Town is no different.”
Reddy said the EPWP programme in the City alone had resulted in an excess of 40 000 temporary work opportunities in the last financial year.
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