Hundreds of Buffalo City Metro (BCM) employees who embarked on an “illegal” strike action this week, compromising operations all across the metro, will forfeit pay for the days they were absent.
This was announced by the metro’s acting city manager Nceba Ncunyana yesterday.
They want workers to be back-paid their upgraded salaries from May 2011 and the municipality to halt outsourcing work to private engineers and electricity firms.
Other demands are that wages not be deducted for those who had embarked on strike action in the past few months. In earlier meetings it was resolved that deductions for those involved in earlier protests would be split across three months, beginning this month. Ncunyana said all the workers’ actions were illegal and could place those involved in hot water if they continued with unprotected strike action.
“The municipality wants it on record that the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) strike is ... not in compliance with Section 64 of the Labour Relations Act.
“These actions have dire consequences and legal action will be taken ... with the principle of no work no pay ... applied,” Ncunyana said.
He said the strike was the sequel to a petition listing various grievances submitted to mayor Alfred Mtsi on February 24. He said because there was no dispute declared after talks between Samwu and the metro authorities had crashed, the strike action was illegal.
But Samwu secretary in BCM Zolani Ndlela yesterday said the strike was legal and they had a certificate from the bargaining council to prove it. “We received the certificate on March 29.
“There is no basis to what management is saying. They have seen the certificate. The strike continues.”
Impasse in BCM talks
This was announced by the metro’s acting city manager Nceba Ncunyana yesterday.
They want workers to be back-paid their upgraded salaries from May 2011 and the municipality to halt outsourcing work to private engineers and electricity firms.
Other demands are that wages not be deducted for those who had embarked on strike action in the past few months. In earlier meetings it was resolved that deductions for those involved in earlier protests would be split across three months, beginning this month. Ncunyana said all the workers’ actions were illegal and could place those involved in hot water if they continued with unprotected strike action.
“The municipality wants it on record that the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) strike is ... not in compliance with Section 64 of the Labour Relations Act.
“These actions have dire consequences and legal action will be taken ... with the principle of no work no pay ... applied,” Ncunyana said.
He said the strike was the sequel to a petition listing various grievances submitted to mayor Alfred Mtsi on February 24. He said because there was no dispute declared after talks between Samwu and the metro authorities had crashed, the strike action was illegal.
But Samwu secretary in BCM Zolani Ndlela yesterday said the strike was legal and they had a certificate from the bargaining council to prove it. “We received the certificate on March 29.
“There is no basis to what management is saying. They have seen the certificate. The strike continues.”
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