Waste collectors block Pretoria streets

05/06/2014. Waste Management workers blocked off the street leading to the Tshwane municality offices in the city demanding the monies that they claimed are owed to them. Picture: Masi Losi

05/06/2014. Waste Management workers blocked off the street leading to the Tshwane municality offices in the city demanding the monies that they claimed are owed to them. Picture: Masi Losi

Published Jun 5, 2014

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Pretoria - Angry Tshwane municipal waste collectors parked their waste trucks in the intersection of Madiba (Vermeulen) and Lilian Ngoyi (Van der Walt) streets on Thursday morning, refusing to move until they were paid for their overtime.

Just before 8am, the workers in uniform parked at least seven trucks in the intersection, causing heavy traffic backlog on the two and surrounding streets during peak hour.

Commuters were late for work as traffic crawled along, taking 30 minutes to move just two blocks.

According to workers, they were paid their salaries on May 26 but did not receive money for more than 60 hours of overtime.

“We are not striking, we just want our money then we will go back to work,” one worker said.

They claimed the City of Tshwane postponed the payments three times, each time promising they will get their money soon.

On Wednesday the metro again failed to pay the workers and they decided to take matters into their own hands.

After metro police intervened, the workers moved the trucks and parked outside the municipal offices.

“We will come again tomorrow if they don’t give us our money,” one worker said.

Pretoria News

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