Johannesburg - Pikitup workers have called off their strike for better wages after they were offered relief of R1 000, but they will not be collecting any rubbish on Christmas Day.
The signing of a Political Facilitation Agreement (PFA) on Wednesday marked the end of “the ongoing breakout of illegal strikes” by workers of Pikitup, a waste management entity of the City of Johannesburg.
A statement released on Thursday and attributed to the City of Johannesburg, South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and Pikitup said: “The parties agreed to a relief mechanism of R1 000 to workers on level A to C in anticipation of the benchmarking exercise on parity. All undertakings are contingent to adherence to the agreement”.
Samwu entered into the agreement with Pikitup and the City of Johannesburg following recent talks that were anchored on the PFA brokered on December 3 – with support from Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Jacob Mamabolo.
“The signed PFA follows talks led by the City of Johannesburg’s political leadership with Pikitup management and SAMWU on December 11, 17, 18 and 19. This was in a bid to find a lasting solution to the long-standing labour impasse,” said the statement.
The parties also acknowledged that it was “rather unfortunate to have witnessed another wave of unprotected work stoppages on December 14 and 18, respectively, while the PFA was being finalised”.
A city-wide process to address parity issues has also been agreed upon.
“All parties are now pleased to announce that all waste management services have been fully restored with effect from December 21. Normal refuse collection continues in accordance with the normal collection schedule.”
ANA