NELSON Mandela Bay Municipality City Manager, Johann Mettler, announced the end of the industrial action in Nelson Mandela Bay after both municipal unions, Imatu and Samwu, signed an agreement last Friday.
“I would like to assure the residents that our waste management directorate will work hard to clean up our streets and suburbs that were inexorably rubbish-strewn due to the non-collection of household rubbish,” said Mettler.
“Unfortunately our best efforts to implement contingency plans did not provide us with the desired outcome and it will require all hands on deck to ensure that both normal services resume and the backlog is wiped out.
“I would like to thank the residents of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality for allowing us the space to negotiate with the workforce during intense deliberations to in the end reach an outcome that will create stability and improved relations with our workforce.
“We agreed on a final settlement of R10 000 for employees with 12 to 17 years, R16 000 for employees with 18 to 23 years, and R21 000 for those employees with service of 24 years and more,” Mr Mettler said.
The agreed long service bonuses are a final settlement that will be paid out after Council approval has been obtained at a meeting that will take place no later than 15 July.
Some of the pertinent issues in the agreement are as follows:
1. All security employees (458) who are currently employed on a contract basis will be permanently employed by 1 July 2018 in terms of the Council resolution.
2. The Locomotion, Overtime and Scarce Skills policies will be further discussed at the Local Labour Forum.
3. All unresolved issues relating to overtime will be resolved.
4. The issue of prolonged suspensions will be further clarified with the unions.
5. All employees currently participating in the industrial action had to return to work on Monday, June 25th unless they were officially on duty over the weekend.
“The principle of no work, no pay will apply for the period employees participated in the industrial action. However, the loss of income of employees will be recovered over four months,” said Mettler.
Mettler thanked employees who chose to work under trying circumstances in some cases and said he hopes that improved relations with employees will directly lead to improved service delivery.
