Municipal workers in Buffalo City demand permanent employment and an end to outsourcing

Members of the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) in the Buffalo City Municipality took to the streets on Monday, marching from North End stadium down Oxford Street to deliver their memorandum of demands to the city’s headquarters. Their main demands included an end to the outsourcing of municipal services and the permanent absorption of all EPWP (expanded public works programme) workers.

The march came as a result of a deadlock in negotiations and the alleged failure by the municipality to implement a collective agreement concluded in September last year. The union says they have long been calling for an end to privatisation and the permanent employment of EPWP workers. Other grievances include the integration of salary levels across services and a danger allowance for refuse collectors, sewer workers, water meter readers, and other workers.

Thando Poni, the union’s regional secretary, criticised the municipality for contracting services and using consultants for most of its work as the biggest contributing factor to the city’s high unemployment rate. He said that the youth of Buffalo City are forced to be refugees, looking for employment in major cities like Cape Town and Johannesburg.

“As Samwu, we cannot keep quiet when most of the municipality’s work is being done by contractors, consultants and service providers. At least 80% of the municipality’s work must be done by internal staff so that employment can be increased,” he said.

Xolani Khantyu, a young man from Duncan Village who has been a casual since 2022, said that they are poorly paid. “I feel so bad; it has been four years I am working in the project. My salary is very little, only R3,000 and up to R3,400 if you work 23 days. I cannot afford to buy electricity.”

52- year-old Nozuko Sobhanda from Mdantsane, who started working in the solid waste department 8 years ago, said that even though there have been promises, and an agreement for their permanent employment by the city was signed, there is still no employment for them. “We don’t know why the government is refusing to employ us. I have four children and I am the only one working,” said Sobhanda.

Lumnka Mpumlwana, a Samwu campaigns coordinator, criticised the municipality for nepotism and bad employment practises. According to her, jobs are reserved for particular families, at the expense of long-serving EPWP workers. She specifically accused the municipality of employing wives and husbands of councillors who had not gone through the EPWP process.

“After we concluded the agreement last year, they have employed more than 200 temps at the water department. Others are wives of councillors. They were not even part of the EPWP. EPWP workers are doing the same as us permanent staff but they earn R2,700 while we are earning R15,000. We are not going to tolerate cheap labour,” she said.

While the protesters were waiting and singing in front of the city hall, calling for the mayor to come out to accept the memorandum, they were surprised to see their own provincial chairperson, Zolani Ndlela come out of the city hall to accept the memorandum instead. Ndlela is currently the acting head of department for corporate services. It was after the protesters howled and rejected Ndlela that the newly appointed chief whip, Sangweni Matwele, came to sign the memorandum.

“My only task here is to accept the memorandum and after that, we will meet as the leadership. I will meet the speaker, the mayor and city manager and come back to you after 7 days, ” Matwele said.