Bela Bela Municipality trashed
TK Mashaba
Bela Bela Municipality came to a standstill on Monday 15 March when SAMWU (South African Municipal Workers Union) members downed tools in protest. Protesters threw rubbish all over town and at municipal offices, damaging some properties there.
This is after a protracted engagement with the management, which resulted in a stale mate in negotiations as the two parties could not come to an agreement.
This happened barely a month after the former municipal manager, Sello Makhubela resigned.
The workers who are affiliated to SAMWU, took to the streets in the early hours of Monday morning and turned down trash all over the streets in downtown, disrupting all services in the municipality.
Addressing their members after failing to reach an amicable solution with management, they said that it was agreed last year that those who has been working as essential workers during lockdown last year were promised an increase of R497 and it was agreed upon with the former municipal manage in October last year, and that they will be paid the money from an adjusted budget by the end of February in this year.
SAMWU Bela Bela spokesperson Elliot Molala said that, the municipal management doesn’t take them seriously and they are going to halt all their members from working, these include most of the people who collect refuse, those working as electricians, and some as traffic officers.
‘We refuse to continue rendering our services as we are afraid of COVID, so we will come to work and stage a sit-in the municipal premises until the municipality feels and pinch of our non-services, said Molala.
Molala said the municipality agreed with them during last year’s negotiations, stating that the money the union proposed was initially R3000, but it was later agreed on an increase of R497. According to the union, right now the municipality has suddenly told them that they won’t pay them anything afterall.
On Monday afternoon another failed meeting was held at Bela Bela police station after the management failed to pave a way forward on when or how they going to pay the workers.
Prior to the protest, Bela Bela municipality released a statement and in the statement the municipality said that the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) advised them (municipality) to only pay the workers the Danger Allowance if it was viable to do so, and if the municipality was able to generate enough revenues, something that the SAMWU members are surprised to hear.
The statement read “The municipality was not in a position to meet the demands of SAMWU due to the directives issued by the national treasury and mainly low revenue collection as a result of inability of payments of rates and taxes by clients who lost their income due to effects of Covid-19 pandemic”.
The National Treasury issued circular indicating conditions that must meet prior considering the payment of Covid-19 Danger Allowance.
At the time of going to press, the situation was still unstable as the municipal management was not willing to renegotiate with SAMWU members.
