Johannesburg - Up to 4 000 striking Pikitup employees could be dismissed if they don't return to work soon.
The workers were due to converge at the Joburg Metro Centre in Rissik Street on Tuesday morning, where they have been hauled before disciplinary hearings.
The hearings, set down for three days, could result in almost 4 000 workers being fired for contravening two court interdicts prohibiting them from striking.
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“The outcome will depend on the merits of each case, including previous offences and number of warnings. The normal labour laws will be implemented according to the circumstances of each case,” said Pikitup spokesperson Jacky Mashapu on Monday.
When the workers embarked on the unprotected strike on March 9, Pikitup gave them an ultimatum to report to work or face dismissal.
“Following the stoppage yesterday (March 9), management issued a final ultimatum to workers to return to work by noon or face summary dismissal,” member of the mayoral committee for environment and infrastructure services Matshidiso Mfikoe said at the time.
But the workers have stood firm in their demands, persisting with their strike action. They are demanding salary increases of between R6 000 and R10 000 a month and that Pikitup managing director Amanda Nair, who they have accused of corruption and nepotism, be fired.
The strike came at a time when Pikitup was still trying to recover from a December strike, which continued for more than two weeks.
During their strike action, the workers have been trashing the streets of central Joburg, destroying bins, spewing rubbish and disrupting refuse removal.
The daggers have now been drawn between the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and Pikitup management.
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Although Pitikup has said the union had been divided into various groups, Samwu has vowed that all its members would be at the hearings this morning to support one another.
The union had indicated it was prepared for the hearings. It said as many as 3 800 of its Pikitup members had been charged.
“The protest action is still on and we will be there in force. We will all be in attendance because all of us have all been charged,” according to Samwu’s Paul Tlhabang.
Pikitup said all workers who ignored the call to return to work following the interdicts awarded to it were being charged, as well as those accused of provoking the unprotected strike and those accused of intimidation.
On Monday, however, Pikitup extended an olive branch to the striking employees, saying it was ready to welcome them if they wanted to return to work on Tuesday.
At the weekend, the City of Joburg intervened, calling on the union and the utility to resume talks to ensure the terms set out in the politically facilitated agreement signed by both parties in December are carried out.
Mfikoe has reiterated that the City of Joburg is committed to ensuring that all employees are treated fairly and compensated accordingly.
She said this could only happen in a normal environment in which workers are back at work so as to afford the mandated parties the opportunity to reach an amicable agreement.
Over the Easter weekend, Pikitup management and contingency teams were hard at work clearing backlogs around the city, according to Mashapu.
Affected areas were being reviewed and monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure cleanliness is restored to optimum levels.
She expressed gratitude to individuals who heeded the call to volunteer in the clean-up campaign in areas in the north of Joburg, including Midrand and Diepsloot.
The Joburg central business district, including Hillbrow, Berea and Braamfontein, also received special attention from the clean-up teams.
As refuse collection is now deemed to be an essential service because the strike has lasted more than 14 days, the Joburg metro police department is escorting the refuse removal trucks.
‘Stop trashing the city’
The Gauteng Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, which in December facilitated an agreement between Pikitup and the SA Municipal Workers Union, has called on striking employees to refrain from inconveniencing the public by trashing the city as a negotiating tool.
Departmental spokesman Keith Khoza said South Africa has sound labour relations policies that should be used to deal with labour matters without inconveniencing the public.
“The destructive culture of damaging and extending a defined dispute to non-players in the space is tantamount to victimisation of the innocent. We believe that unions and their leadership must denounce the destructive conduct of striking Pikitup employees,” he said.
The December 4 agreement stated that:
A senior advocate will be appointed to ensure a conducive climate for negotiations;
The Joburg city manager will investigate the salary disparity among workers, and Pikitup workers will be prioritised as they are the lowest paid;
A cost exercise will be completed to see how this will impact on the city’s budget;
By February 1, investigations will be completed into the factors that led to the strike, including the relations between Pikitup managing director Amanda Nair and her employees;
The no-work, no-pay conditions will be discussed;
The senior advocate will assist with criminal charges laid against workers during the wildcat strike;
The hostilities will cease; and
With regard to the demand that Nair be removed, then MEC of Co-operative Governance Jacob Mamabolo said he was sure that relations between the parties could be improved.
The Star