Strike: Why ratepayers won't be reimbursed

31 March 2016

 

Johannesburg residents will not be reimbursed despite the non-collection of their refuse by Pikitup as a result of the ongoing illegal strike by more than 4 800 members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU), the City of Johannesburg’s waste management entity has explained.

 

As the illegal work stoppage continued into its third week, several residents have requested that they be reimbursed the monthly service charge for refuse collection because Pikitup could not provide a service owing to the strike.

 

Pikitup has, however, pointed out that the refuse removal services fee is a monthly charge based on the value of the property as per the City’s promulgated tariffs.

 

It says the charge cannot be itemised or allocated to a bin or the number of lifts per bin. It is also not based on the quantity of the waste collected.  “The totality of waste services includes bin collection, street cleaning, illegal dumping, litter picking and landfill operations. These are all funded from the tariff as stipulated in the tariffs policy and the City of Johannesburg's waste bylaws.”

 

It says in cases where refuse is not collected as a result of unforeseen circumstances –including planned or unplanned strikes, general service delays caused by bad weather or truck breakdowns – Pikitup implements contingency measures to deal with the backlog.  “We regret any inconvenience caused as a result of the ongoing disruption to refuse collection services and would like to assure Johannesburg citizens, in particular ratepayers, that we are doing what we can to stabilise the daily operations,” the entity says in a statement. 

 

“Regrettably, it is not possible to provide a refund or credit during or post an illegal strike. Even though there has been disruption to collection, the law does not permit ratepayers to withhold payment of their refuse charge.”

 

The entity says it is collecting as much as refuse as it can through its contingency measures.  “Pikitup understands that many residents have had their collections missed. Services are running during the night to deal with these kinds of delays. Where possible we are sending out extra crews and prioritising areas that have been affected the most,” the entity’s statement says.