Johannesburg - Pikitup on Thursday announced the implementation of a double shift system as a measure to clear backlogs of refuse removal and illegal dumping caused by the five-week long strike which ended on Sunday.
Pikitup spokesperson, Jacky Mashapu, said in a statement that the system would comprise of a day and night shift.
Pikitup has committed itself to clearing the refuse collection backlog by April 30.
“These efforts will be complemented by resources mobilised from all entities of the City and the third party contracted service providers in order to remove the backlog of waste by the end of the month,” Mashapu said.
This comes as the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) on Thursday confirmed that the City of Joburg had put a wage offer on the table to end the salary impasse between Pikitup, and its workers.
Samwu leadership was on Thursday morning consulting with the workers to decide on the offer before reporting back to the company at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in the afternoon.
At least 4 000 Pikitup workers affiliated to Samwu embarked on an unprotected strike on March 9, demanding wage hikes from R6 000 to R10 000 a month.
The strike came to an end on Saturday night after the City and the Samwu reached an agreement.
The strike had caused growing concerns over the health and environmental impact caused by uncollected refuse.
Pikitup workers commenced with their normal scheduled waste management services on Monday, including refuse collection, street sweeping and litter picking and clearing of illegally dumped waste.
Mashapu said normal operations may be slower than usual due to excess waste which had accumulated for weeks.
He also urged residents and business owners to continue leaving their bins and excess waste outside on their normal collection day as recovery plans were in place to collect within 48 hours.
African News Agency