Metro coughs up R44m to end Bay strike
Workers expected back on Monday after deal is reached
A R44-million deal is what it took to finally appease municipal workers and break the back of a crippling, week-long strike in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The money will fund long-service back pay for almost 3000 employees who downed tools on Thursday last week.
The deal, struck after protracted negotiations, was signed yesterday after it was accepted by members of both the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu).
Workers are expected to resume their duties on Monday, unless they are on duty to work at the weekend.
In terms of the agreement, employees with between 12 and 17 years’ service will receive a once-off bonus of R10000, those with between 18 and 23 years’ service will get R16000, and staff who have been employed for 24 years and longer will receive R21000.
The agreement is, however, subject to council approval.
The unions initially demanded a R30000 across-the-board long-service bonus for the 2689 striking workers.
The demand stems from money owed to workers after the former Uitenhage, Despatch and Port Elizabeth municipalities merged to form Nelson Mandela Bay in 2000.
Before the 2016 municipal elections, the then ANC-led council agreed to pay workers long-service back-pay bonuses.
But when the new DA-led administration took over, it discovered that doing so would not be affordable.
The city faces a projected budget deficit of R239-million for the financial year ending on June 30. This excludes the money the metro would have to fork out for the long-service back pay.
On the unions’ initial demands, mayor Athol Trollip said on Wednesday: “We don’t have that kind of money, we can’t pay it. It would be irregular and irresponsible.”
During what was described as “intense negotiations” over the last two days, facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) – the unions finally settled on a revised settlement offer tabled by the city, which dictates that the workers would receive a bonus amount dependent on their individual years of service.
“Both unions and the employer have accepted the facilitator’s proposal and the agreement has been signed by all parties,” city manager Johann Mettler said.
Other issues outlined in the agreement include: ● All 458 security staff who are now employed on a contract basis would be made permanent by July 1; ● The “locomotion” (transport), overtime and scarce skills policies would be further discussed at the Local Labour Forum; ● All unresolved issues relating to overtime would be resolved; and ● The issue of prolonged suspensions would be further clarified with the unions.
Mettler said the no work, no pay policy would apply for the eight days that the employees participated in the strike.
The wage deductions would, however, be recovered over four months, Mettler said.
The strike saw workers trashing the streets, particularly around the city centre, toppling bus stops and burning plastic bins. For the past week heaps of uncollected rubbish piled up.
While the municipality put contingency plans in place to collect rubbish in some areas later in the week, it was not able to reach all areas.
“Unfortunately our best efforts to implement contingency plans did not provide us with the desired outcome and it will require all hands on deck to en- sure that normal services resume and that the backlog is wiped out,” Mettler said.
He said a furious clean-up of the city was under way.
Samwu regional secretary Mqondisi Nodongwe and Imatu regional manager Churchill Mothapo confirmed that workers would be back at work from Monday.
Mothapo said: “The new offer was welcomed by the workers and, in my view, it was a reasonable settlement because we’ve had to find a middle ground.”
Nodongwe, however, said not all of Samwu’s members were happy with the deal. “They wanted to continue with the strike, but we’ve had to intervene and provide leadership,” he said.
“I really want to commend the CCMA officials for their intervention because if it were not for them, I think the strike would probably have continued. As a union we really appreciate it because they realised it was a matter which is in the public interest to resolve as quickly as possible,” Nodongwe said.
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