Hundreds of Eastern Cape residents and government facilities, including prisons and hospitals, may be faced with water challenges after workers from Amatola Water downed tools.
The organisation, which is currently troubled with protesting workers from around the province, is responsible for supplying bulk water to different municipalities and government facilities in areas including Peddie, Debe, Stutterheim, Mthatha, Port Elizabeth and East London.
Disgruntled workers, including lab technicians, process controllers, operators, workers who check the quality of the water, cleaning processes and maintenance, travelled from across the province to take part in protests at the Vincent office in East London. Protests started last Friday and continued yesterday.
Amatola shop steward and South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) regional deputy chair, Victor Totola, said: “People who are fixing the pumps at pumps stations are here. Managers are running the sites and some of them are not qualified to do the jobs.
“They are pumping water that has not been cleaned.” The workers are demanding a payout of R10500 each amid allegations that Amatola Water failed to update salary spreadsheets, did not conduct job evaluations for more than 10 years and had “illegally” increased salaries of 32 workers in 2012.
“We have been trying to negotiate with the employer since last year. We wrote to them earlier last month and they replied and said they would come back to us on December 11 and we could not accept that.”
Further negotiations took place last Monday.
“We agreed on all the grievances but the critical one, which is the one dealing with the salary disparities settlement demand,” Totola said.
The workers said they had decided to demand R10500 as the employer cannot backpay them.
Amatola CEO Makibinyane said management had tried to work around the clock to reach an agreement late yesterday with the workers. However, he said he could not guarantee that the workers would be 100% satisfied as Amatola was looking to settle the demand “some time in the future”.
He said the workers would be addressed by Amatola’s board chairwoman and was positive that workers would go back to work today.
“Management have taken full control of the running of the plants and the quality of the water is being maintained.”
BCM communication manager Keith Ngesi said the metro had been informed that senior operators were working in the plants.
He said if the action continued Mdantsane and 60% of King William’s Town would be affected.
Although Cecilia Makiwane Hospital was listed as one of the sites that could be affected by the protest action, chief executive Dr Mthandeki Xamlashe said it had not been yet.
Water workers down their tools
The organisation, which is currently troubled with protesting workers from around the province, is responsible for supplying bulk water to different municipalities and government facilities in areas including Peddie, Debe, Stutterheim, Mthatha, Port Elizabeth and East London.
Disgruntled workers, including lab technicians, process controllers, operators, workers who check the quality of the water, cleaning processes and maintenance, travelled from across the province to take part in protests at the Vincent office in East London. Protests started last Friday and continued yesterday.
Amatola shop steward and South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) regional deputy chair, Victor Totola, said: “People who are fixing the pumps at pumps stations are here. Managers are running the sites and some of them are not qualified to do the jobs.
“They are pumping water that has not been cleaned.” The workers are demanding a payout of R10500 each amid allegations that Amatola Water failed to update salary spreadsheets, did not conduct job evaluations for more than 10 years and had “illegally” increased salaries of 32 workers in 2012.
“We have been trying to negotiate with the employer since last year. We wrote to them earlier last month and they replied and said they would come back to us on December 11 and we could not accept that.”
Further negotiations took place last Monday.
“We agreed on all the grievances but the critical one, which is the one dealing with the salary disparities settlement demand,” Totola said.
The workers said they had decided to demand R10500 as the employer cannot backpay them.
Amatola CEO Makibinyane said management had tried to work around the clock to reach an agreement late yesterday with the workers. However, he said he could not guarantee that the workers would be 100% satisfied as Amatola was looking to settle the demand “some time in the future”.
He said the workers would be addressed by Amatola’s board chairwoman and was positive that workers would go back to work today.
“Management have taken full control of the running of the plants and the quality of the water is being maintained.”
BCM communication manager Keith Ngesi said the metro had been informed that senior operators were working in the plants.
He said if the action continued Mdantsane and 60% of King William’s Town would be affected.
Although Cecilia Makiwane Hospital was listed as one of the sites that could be affected by the protest action, chief executive Dr Mthandeki Xamlashe said it had not been yet.
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