Johannesburg - The Community Work Programme (CWP) workers took the saying "We come in peace" literally when they danced to Luthuli House to hand a memorandum of grievances.
Clad in their bright orange uniform, the workers from various regions in Gauteng were accompanied by a brass band which belted songs as they marched on Monday.
During the march, the workers sang and danced as the brass band played songs that reiterated their demands.
The workers delivered their memorandum to the ANC’s Dakota Legoete who promised to get back to them within the stipulated time frame.
According to the CWP’s Pule Hlafu, they have been submitting memorandums to party as early as 2012 and to date none of their grievances were ever attended to "until we decided to rather come unannounced to where our leaders are deployed and share our grievances in person".
“Our main issue is the stipend paid to our members. Our members are getting around R780 per month and we are saying that should be increased to at least R1000 per month,” Hlafu added.
The CPW workers outside Luthuli House, demanding that their stipend be increased from R780 to R1000 a month.
Hlafu further added that apart from the salary issue, they were also calling on the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to empower workers or provide them with skills which they can use to better their lives.
Johannes Mokoena, a CPW worker, said he wished that the government could address their issues and resolve the salary issue.
“We do a major job by keeping Gauteng clean, but our pay does not even make it to R1000. We have families to look after and with this little income, we are unable to provide for our families.
Another worker added that a decent salary was what they need.
She further said they would also like the government to review certain policies within the programmes, as some workers get injured while at work and their medical expenses are not covered.
Hlafu said as part of the CWP Gauteng coordinating team, they were giving the ANC only two weeks to engage with the memorandum and respond accordingly.
“Comrades, we give them two weeks to respond and if they do not get back to us we will shut Johannesburg down,” he said to the workers.