Durban - New eThekwini municipal manager Musa Mbhele has promised to institute disciplinary action and clamp down on the actions of some workers who embark on unprotected strikes and use municipal vehicles to block roads.
This comes after protest action by Durban Solid Waste (DSW) workers in August and strikes by the city’s electricity unit and water and sanitation unit last month.
It is understood that the strikes came after the city implemented a new overtime policy that imposed drastic cuts on overtime pay that workers could claim.
Asked about the strike action, Mbhele, in an interview posted on the eThekwini Metro’s Facebook page,
said: “Some of the reasons that we heard that workers are striking for include that they wanted to be paid overtime and that they are facing tough economic times.
“I don’t buy this as we have seen this sort of action even when our economy wasn’t under so much pressure. I feel that workers have a sense of entitlement and this is clear ill-discipline, as they are failing to provide services to the very same people who are paying their overtime.”
Mbhele added that disciplinary action would be instituted against workers who went on unprotected strikes.
“We can’t have a situation where workers are taking municipal vehicles and blocking roads. That will not be tolerated. We will consult broadly and engage with labour formations. I will be having a workshop to unpack decisions with workers, as it must be known that we won’t tolerate workers not doing their job.”
Mbhele’s comments come after eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda recently raised concerns about the performance of the city’s workers. Kaunda said that a meeting would be called with senior management to establish the underlying reasons for poor performance, followed by a meeting with the workers.
DA eThekwini caucus leader Thabani Mthethwa said the party had written to the city to request that the issue of unprotected strikes be discussed at an executive committee meeting.
“We welcome the announcement by the eThekwini city manager, however; we also call upon the municipality to expedite punishment. We want to see those who don’t want to come to work because of illegal strike action to not be paid for those days.
“We want those who steal municipal vehicles to blockade roads to be dealt with harshly. And that would mean firing them as taking municipal vehicles while not at work and blocking the roads is theft and should be punished with dismissal.
“We also must remember that these workers are sabotaging the economy, and that should not be tolerated … We have made our recommendations and await to see what action the municipality will be taking.”
IFP eThekwini Metro chairperson Mdu Nkosi said the party had also been calling for consequence management.
“The reason being is that workers from the municipality can’t do as they please. We call upon the municipality to implement appropriate action against these workers.
“We will be asking questions if appropriate action is not being taken by the municipality. We can’t have a situation where residents are paying the salaries of workers and they are not doing their jobs. Whether they are assigned to DSW, water or electricity, we need to see them on the ground doing their jobs.”
Mbhele added that the municipality had already started implementing operations to clean up the city and reduce crime, especially in hot spots in the Durban CBD.
“We have already started Operation Good Hope where we are focused on the cleaning up of the city. We are partnering with other stakeholders in this initiative. We have also started Operation Overland, which will focus on reducing crime in the Durban CBD. Some of the hot spots that we have targeted include Albert Park and Point Road.”
Mbhele added that there was an urgent need to improve ablution facilities in the city.
“We also need to ensure that there are better facilities for women to use in the Durban CBD. This will be addressed, as this has been a major problem for women.”