RUSTENBURG HERALD - RUSTENBURG - News of disruption at the offices of Rustenburg Local Municipality (RLM) spread like the proverbial wildfire on Monday morning, 12 May.
In a display of severe dissatisfaction, workers of RLM gathered in the parking area of the main office building on the corner of Beyers Naude and Nelson Mandela Drive, demanding salaries in accordance with the grading of the municipality. The workers did not engage in strike action, but obtained a permit to “picket” for a period of two hours, whereafter they dispersed and returned to duty.
A combined union memorandum was handed to the Executive Mayor, Cllr Shiela Mabale-Huma and other members of top management of RLM, demanding for lower-level workers to be upgraded to Category 7 level salaries. The workers were represented by two unions, notably the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu).
In a letter obtained by Rustenburg Herald, written by die South African Local Government Association (Salga), dated 13 May 2024, it is confirmed that “Council and Senior Managers [of RLM] reporting to the Municipal Manager is paid at a Category 7”. The letter also states that “Organised labour cannot pressure the municipality to enter into an agreement to increase salaries and wages outside the Job Evaluation process ... as negotiated at Central Bargaining council.”
However, Imatu Secretary, Alfred Ramafoko, confirmed that workers are currently on a Category 5/6 salary scale and that the demands for increased remuneration originated after a Mayoral Committee was sent to the City of Mbombela to compare how this municipality is run (and consequent salary structures) versus RLM. In a report seen by the Rustenburg Herald, as a consequence of the visit, the Committee found that the City of Mbombela has less Councillors than Rustenburg (90 versus our 130) with the same number of Wards. Also, the Mbombela region is mostly rural, in comparison to our mostly urban area. The report can therefore lead to the logical conclusion that RLM’s workers should also be paid on a Category 7 salary scale, similar to workers in Mbombela.
Maybe that is why the workers were very vocal on Monday morning as the Mayor and top management were watching the picketing employees, but did not address the crowd formally. The workers were chanting and singing, slinging insults such as “Voetsek” (as well as other unsavoury insults not fit for printing) in the Mayor’s direction.
In a document obtained by Rustenburg Herald from a reliable source within RLM, an agreement between employees and the Municipal Manager (adv Ashmar Khuduge) was signed on salaries, in direct contradiction with a Council Resolution. “All the other things you see on that ‘settlement agreement’ is what was put there by the Municipal Manager without Council consent. That’s why the employees are praising him for false hope and the expectation he created.”
The source also produced documents that confirm that grants to RLM are being underspent (with the public bearing the consequence in the form of poor service delivery), as “Bid committees are appointed by the Municipal Manager, but he won’t take accountability as to why they do not appoint service providers on time.”
With the proverbial mudslinging going back and forth, it does seem rather difficult to separate fact from fiction. Notwithstanding public opinion on poor service delivery (and the fact that workers don’t “deserve” increased salaries, as commented by various citizens on Facebook), Imatu’s Ramafoko commented that workers are struggling to diligently complete their work due to being under-resourced - and that it is not the fault of the employees if money is being underspent or misspent and equipment/parts are not available.
* Odirile Madiba of the Communications department in the Office of the Executive Mayor, acknowledged the receipt of the memorandum and said the management team would send a written response to the union leaders within seven days.
* A video of the picketing can be viewed by clicking on this link: https://bit.ly/RLM-workers-picketing
