Executive Mayor Tau gets tough with striking workers

16 March 2016

 

Johannesburg Executive Mayor Councillor Parks Tau has unequivocally condemned Pikitup workers who went on an illegal strike again last week, disrupting waste management services and leaving many parts of the city buried under piles of rubbish.

 

Speaking during the City’s 15th annual general meeting at Alexandra Stadium yesterday, Executive Mayor Tau said while he respected workers’ right to strike in support of their grievances, he could not tolerate the violence, threats and vandalism that usually accompanied such action.

He criticised the conduct of some workers who vandalised road signs, destroyed council property and thrashed the streets. He said Pikitup workers – who last week downed tools for the third time in four months – had no regard for due process.

The Mayor called on all top executives of the City’s entities to act decisively against illegal work stoppages as they undermined the law and affected service delivery.

“As the City we subscribe to the Labour Relations Act, which gives workers the right to organise, unionise, negotiate, ballot and strike. But workers must recognise the law. Vandalising road signage, for instance, puts people’s lives at risk. Thrashing streets, damaging council equipment and looting hawkers’ goods – all this cannot be progressive,” Mayor Tau said.

“As soon as [the strike] stops, we carry on as if nothing had happened. We don’t follow up with corrective action. Let’s take action on behalf of the residents of Johannesburg because when anarchy prevails, the accolades will disappear.

“I have told management to take corrective action against those breaking the law. They must not waste time. We cannot as public servants withhold services because we as workers are aggrieved. We cannot sabotage services in the name of our rights. If we don’t act, we are simply encouraging this conduct… we are incentivising people to use intimidation as a tactic,” he said.

Mayor Tau said there was something “fundamentally wrong when people kill those they don’t agree with” and urged management to institute criminal proceedings against those breaking the law.

Mayor Tau said the City was on track to deliver on its mandate. With six of the 12 entities receiving unqualified audits in the 2014-2015 financial year, both Mayor Tau and City Manager Trevor Fowler acknowledged the good work but emphasised that there was still a lot of work to be done.

“South Africa is concerned about corruption. It’s our duty to reassure the people of Joburg that we are managing resources efficiently and effectively,” the Mayor said.

He said reiterated the City’s commitment to improved service delivery after a recent customer satisfaction survey revealed that residents were unhappy with the standard of service delivery.

Fowler said the City had made significant progress since the current administration took over in 2011. He said for three years in a row the city had received unqualified audits and maintained good financial results. This was confirmed by the Fitch AA upgrade in December. He said the R100-billion infrastructure investment programme had lifted the City’s economic performance in tough conditions.

Despite the economic pressure brought on by a weaker rand and other pressures, the City must thrive to deliver better services. Mthokozisi Sibisi, from the Gauteng Auditor General’s office, praised the City for its improved finances.He said there had been a general reduction in irregular, unauthorised and fruitless expenditure. He also said the other six entities that had not received clean audits were not too far from achieving that goal.