City signs agreement with labour unions
08 December 2017
The City of Johannesburg has signed an agreement with two leading unions, the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) on Thursday, 8 December 2017.
“I am delighted to announce that the City has signed an agreement today, 08 December 2017, giving effect to the discussions that were concluded at the Labour Lekgotla,” said Member of the Mayoral Committee for Corporate and Shared Service Cllr Ntombi Khumalo.
The agreement follows the successful convening of the labour lekgotla between the City of Johannesburg, Samwu and Imatu over the past weekend. It was the first of its kind after several years of strife within the labour unions, which had in the past resulted in constrained engagements on issues of mutual interest.
The main aim of the lekgotla was to try to reach consensus on the restructuring and composition of the local labour forum in light of the many developments happening within the City, including among others, the reintegration of the ME’s into the City Administration.
The one and half day lekgotla was attended by representatives from Samwu, Imatu, and the City was led by the Group Corporate and Shared Service department.
MMC Khumalo was flanked by Member of Mayoral Committee for Development Planning Funzela Ngobeni and Member of the Mayoral Committee for Public Safety Michael Sun, thus affirming the seriousness with which the City take this structure.
The Executive Mayor, Cllr Herman Mashaba, reiterated the commitment of his “administration to establishing a close working relationship with trade union movements”. He urged all the parties to work together and join his efforts to improve service delivery to the residents of Johannesburg and serve with pride.
“Harmonious labour relations within labour are crucial for the City of Johannesburg’s service delivery agenda. It is, therefore, critical for structures meant to provide platforms for dialogue between labour and the employer to function effectively for labour stability to be maintained,” said MMC Khumalo.
The Main Collective Agreement, which was signed between City of Johannesburg and labour in 2015 prescribes that union representation into the labour forum to a total of 12 members, with both Samwu and Imatu recognised as the representatives of labour.
MMC Khumalo said that currently, the membership of unionised staff members in the City showed that Samwu enjoyed the majority support and according to the ratio its representation is seven members. Based on the same ratio, Imatu has five members. Among the issues discussed at the last labour forum was the matter relating to the shift allowances arising out of the extended working hours in the City’s libraries and clinics. A technical committee comprising all parties was established to process the matter and report back to the labour forum.
The next labour forum meeting is scheduled for 16 January 2018 during which the proposal of the task team will be considered.