Johannesburg – An additional 1 085 Pikitup workers have been hired to ensure the city is clean throughout the festive season.
The extra staff, mostly young people, will work between December and January to ensure the festive season waste collection programme runs without any glitches.
Pikitup said, in a statement, that the daily quantity of waste increases during the December holidays and it is therefore employing additional staff to assist in tackling these expected high volumes of waste.
Johannes Thakheli, manager of Pikitup's specialist youth and expanded public works programme (EPWP), said many employees were on leave at this time of the year.
“We are usually short-staffed around this time as our drivers and street cleaners take their annual leave. Before we used labour brokers. Management then gave a directive that we must source workers directly. We get workers, especially the youth, from the database of the city's social development department and through ward councillors. When hiring workers, we have to adhere to EPWP guidelines, which stipulate, among other things, that the majority of workers must be the youth,” said Thakeli.
Pikitup has urged Joburg residents to dispose of their waste in a manner that will reduce illegal dumping and overloading of bins. Waste that is not responsibly disposed of usually results in a health hazard stemming from rats and flies infestation.
Residents whose waste collection falls on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are requested to take out their bins on December 26 and January 2 respectively.
The entity has also appealed to residents to refrain from giving employees Christmas gifts. Pikitup does not permit them to solicit Christmas donations from residents.
Over the past week 10 people, including Pikitup employees, were arrested in three separate incidents in southern Joburg on charges of fraud and misrepresentation.
Two men dressed in Pikitup uniforms were arrested in Mondeor after a member of the community policing forum questioned them about their presence in the area.
In the Glenvista-Bassonia area, four men, also pretending to be Pikitup employees, were arrested. Three more were apprehended in Mulbarton.