Refuse collectors continue go-slow
- Published on 1 Aug 2013
- HR Pulse News Desk
Refuse collectors in the City of Johannesburg continue to hold their go-slow this week as the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) consults its members on new strategies in a long-running dispute with management, reports Business Day.
A full-blown strike by waste management company Pikitup’s staff was prevented on Friday through a successful court interdict by management.
Pikitup employees embarked on a go-slow earlier in July in protest over changes of staff benefits and the implementation of new procedures, compelling the company to employ contingency plans to sort out uncollected refuse.
Pikitup MD Amanda Nair said in a video address to residents at the weekend that the implementation of new controls such as electronic clocking-in systems and breathalysers for truck drivers would continue as the company pursued a turnaround strategy to improve service.
Samwu spokesman Tahir Sema said on Tuesday that discussions with staff on how to proceed in the wake of the court interdict would continue.
Refuse collectors were not dead against breathalysers or the new clocking-in systems, he said, but refuse collectors had previously been collected by trucks at central pick-up points, and the loss of this benefit could mean monthly transport costs of more than R1,000 for members earning wages of only R3,000, reports Business Day.
