Johannesburg - Pikitup workers affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) in Johannesburg on Thursday embarked on yet another illegal strike, after salary negotiations with management reached a deadlock.
This is the fourth Pikitup strike since November 2015.
Read: Cash relief after illegal Pikitup strike
Among the issues Samwu wants resolved was the benchmarking of job descriptions with equal salaries for similar occupation at different depots, as well as the immediate resignation of Pikitup managing director Amanda Nair.
Last year, the trade union went on an illegal strike and laid criminal charges against Nair, but Pikitup obtained a court interdict against its workers.
Samwu’s deputy regional secretary, Paul Tlhabang, speaking on SAfm on Thursday morning, said there was no eagerness from the management to speedily resolve the ongoing dispute.
Tlhabang said some of their members were still earning less than R9 000 a month when their colleagues at other depots doing the same job earned more than R20 000.
“The workers are saying if you (Pikitup) cannot offer us at least R15 000, then indicate to us how much you can put on the table. Instead what management offered was just an insult. But management offered R150 and R200 salary increments, and members cannot accept that,” Tlhabang told the radio station.
Tlhabang said the union would meet with management on Thursday at the Mandating Committee, adding that “as long as the issue of salaries was not corrected, the situation would not improve and service delivery would be affected”.
Tlhabang accused Pikitup boss Amanda Nair of being a “law unto herself and untouchable”, saying Nair was sending managers to “deal” with Samwu members through advocates for issues related to misconduct.
Nair, defending herself, said the issue of benchmarking salaries was a “scientific one” and was out of her hands.
Nair said that she was merely implementing her mandate and she would continue to do her job as long as the Pikitup board and the political leadership of the City of Joburg were happy with her.
“I’m not part of the benchmarking process, but Mr Tlhabang and Samwu leadership at local and regional have been part of the process, they sit in the technical task team. Samwu wants me to resign but I don’t wake up in the morning and make a determination about workers’ salaries or policies,” Nair said.
ANA