MUNICIPAL WORKERS ON STRIKE

CARLETONVILLE. - Service delivery in the Merafong City Local Municipality ground to a halt last week Monday as both permanent and temporary municipal workers embarked on an illegal strike.The employees’ action started at about 09:30 when a group blocked off the part of Palladium Street in front of the Carletonville municipal offices with concrete rubbish bins. After a short protest in front of the building, they took to the shade provided by the roofs of business complexes across the road to escape the sweltering heat. Many municipal vehicles were parked in Flint Street during the course of the protests.Some of the protesters told the Herald that they were upset that the municipality had not paid them out for their unused leave days as they had done the previous year.Many employees, therefore, seem to have planned their finances accordingly. They decided on an illegal strike after a meeting with the municipal management at the Carletonville Civic Centre failed to resolve the matter.Temporary workers who are employed as part of the extended public works program (EPWP) said they were also unhappy because they had not been paid their full salaries for the past months.‘We worked over the festive season to ensure that there was service delivery but they have not paid us. We needthe money to feed our families and get our children to school,’ the workers lamented.The Herald asked the municipality about the matter.‘In a bid to resolve the matter, we are busy with discussions on leave encasement with the municipal Local Labour Forum. The illegal work stoppage only lasted a few hours. The Local Labour Forum meeting has been scheduled for 10 January 2018. The municipality has not yet completed its assessment of service delivery departments,’ a municipal spokesperson responded.‘In terms of the payment of salaries process, where salaries were paid early, some of the EPWP colleagues were paid for work done in the first half of December.‘The remainder of their salaries will be paid with the January salary run,’ the spokesperson replied when questioned about the temporary employees’ issue.

CARLETONVILLE HERALD + PHOTO