Johannesburg - Don’t expect traffic lights to be repaired in a hurry or potholes filled any time soon.
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) employees are on strike - but they have undertaken that there will be no violence or trashing of council property.
The agency was served with a notice to strike by the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) on Friday last week.
The strike is a result of a dispute on three main matters. These include a demand for the introduction of a pay progression system in the JRA, starting with a once-off structural adjustment of salaries of all employees on certain levels, a demand for the increase in the travel allowance for inspectors from R4 500 to R8 500 and the removal of a depot manager in Region F.
The JRA board and management said in a statement they believed the three issues did not necessarily justify strike action as management had provided clear and viable processes that were currently under way to address concerns.
JRA managing director Skhumbuzo Macozoma said the agency and Samwu had agreed that:
* The strike would be peaceful and controlled.
* Workers who didn’t want to strike would not be intimidated.
* Company resources would not be abused by striking workers.
* The door for negotiations would be kept open.
The JRA says it has put a strike management plan in place and will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates to all residents.
The Star