Johannesburg - It’s back to a full-blown strike by Pikitup workers, so Joburg residents should brace themselves to live with their rubbish for the next few days.
Pikitup managing director Amanda Nair said on Friday morning workers did not arrive for work after they started protest action on Thursday.
However, she said there were contingency plans and back-up drivers to clean up the worst of the city’s hotspots.
She said the reason for the strike was that disciplinary hearings for six shop stewards charged with general misconduct were under way.
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), however, claim there are other issues including the conversion of fixed-term contracts into permanent work and the advertising of senior management jobs instead of offering them to internal staff.
They also want the theft charges against Nair reinstated and her resignation with immediate effect.
Read: Another illegal Samwu strike at Pikitup
“These issues have to be resolved and we will not go back to work until our members agree to (go back),” said Samwu’s deputy regional secretary Paul Tlhabang.
In June last year, Nair was arrested for alleged theft of the company’s official cellphones, which were irregularly issued to her and her children.
She was arrested with Donovan Denyssen, who was working in the IT department when he allegedly gave the cellphones to Nair and a close relative without following proper procedures.
The charges were later dropped.
Tlhabang said Nair’s legal costs and bail had been paid for by Pikitup.
“That is not fair. If our members are charged criminally, Pikitup does not pay for them,” he said.
This new strike follows a 10-day unprotected strike in November last year which came to an end when the Gauteng provincial government intervened to break the deadlock between the parties.
Read: Cash relief after illegal Pikitup strike
The then-MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Jacob Mamabolo signed the agreement, calling it a political one, not one which replaced bargaining council or labour processes.
Part of that agreement included the hiring of an attorney to assist with the re-fostering of relations between Nair and the staff.