Durban - If you live in the eThekwini region, don’t bother leaving your dirt bags outside for pick up. According to the City’s Communications Unit, there is an interruption of waste and street sweeping services due to an illegal work stoppage.
“Cleansing and Solid Waste employees have embarked on this work stoppage due to the overtime cut that was implemented on August 1, 2022.
“Residents and businesses are requested to keep refuse bags and bins inside their properties until the situation is resolved. The City apologises for the inconvenience caused,” the unit said in a short statement.
Earlier this month, staff went on a go-slow after the City announced its decision to reduce overtime. At the time, DSW head Raymond Rampersad warned that the unit would run out of money to pay overtime claims before the end of the year.
According to The Mercury, a workers’ union struck an agreement with the City that reversed an earlier council decision which had instructed that overtime pay be cut by 50% across all departments.
The go-slow, that left 80% of the areas under the municipality dirty, was finally resolved in favour of the workers and they returned to work.
The cut in the overtime budget meant that DSW had to reduce its overtime budget from R110 million to R55m. It therefore meant the workers could only work 16 overtime hours a month, while they had previously been working 32. However, with the City capitulating, the workers will now go back to 32 hours a month.
IOL