Gallery Update
GEORGE NEWS - The protest march by members of the municipal labour union Samwu (South African Municipal Workers Union) came to an end at George Municipality at around 14:00 this afternoon, Thursday 27 July.
Apart from a couple of traffic disruptions, the march was peaceful.
A group of about 120 union members departed from Thembalethu this morning and slowly walked down Nelson Mandela Boulevard, down York Street to the municipality where they handed over a memorandum of grievances to the Director of Community Services, Dawie Adonis. Adonis received the memorandum on behalf of Municipal Manager Dr Michele Gratz.
The memorandum contains grievances and issues regarding Covid-19 compensation payouts, restructuring within the municipality, discrepancies and irregularities with task job evaluations, outstanding task appeals, occupational health and safety, recruitment and selection, temporary staff and EPWP employees, local labour forum meetings, disciplinary hearings and tribunals of Samwu members, third-party deductions for transportation of workers, racism within the municipality, Council’s resolution on fencing, deviation from the acting policy, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, GBV and the establishment of an accident committee.
Director of Community Services Dawie Adonis receives and signs the memorandum. Photo: Kristy Kolberg
Also listed were issues with Smart Ryk Consultants - appointed for a forensic investigation - who were, according to Samwu, appointed to target non-white employees.
Samwu gave the municipality 21 days to respond and meet their demands. Should the municipality fail in doing this, the union is determined to go on another protest march and render the municipality ungovernable.
PHOTO GALLERY: Strike action by SAMWU
Read more about this in next week’s George Herald.
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