Tshwane to pay salary increases to municipal workers
The City of Tshwane has agreed to pay municipal workers a promised 6.25% salary increase following a week of protests in the capital.
However, the Administrator says the City of Tshwane cannot afford to pay the outstanding payment of two years.
The city says revenue collection in the city has gone down to about 70% due to the Covid-19 lockdown that came into effect on 26 March 2020 - leading to a R2,3 billion loss in liquidity.
The City’s administrator, Mpho Nawa, says in a statement talks continued with the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) after the city was brought to a standstill by protesting workers demanding the city honours the salary agreement signed in 2018.
Tshwane has committed to implement the salary and wage agreement of a 6,25% increase and Nawa is pleading in a statement with the union to accept the agreement.
However, SAMWU Regional Secretary Mpho Tladinyane says they will not give up until the outstanding payment is paid.
"Noting that our efforts in respect of wage and salary increase paid off, SAMWU leadership will now channel unyielding energies until benchmarking payment is made.
“We have since explored various options to fastrack benchmarking payments," says Tladinyane.
He says various options will be shared with members at Tshwane House on Friday, for a further mandate.
Letter to SAMWU and IMATU -... by Anastasi Mokgobu on Scribd
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This comes after workers affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) stormed Tshwane House in the Pretoria CBD on Tuesday. The union accused the city of backtracking on a decision made to pay workers outstanding salaries. City spokesperson Selby Bokaba says officials cannot give in to all the workers' demands.