Workers facing unpaid after having been placed of Quarantine due to Covid-19.

17 June 2020

Workers facing unpaid after having been placed of Quarantine due to Covid-19.

The Municipal workers at Parow Solid Waste Management Department (Parow Depot) were placed on self-isolation after two of their colleagues tested positive to Covid-19. They where issued with an instruction in writing to return to work on Monday 15th June 2020. The City Officials claim that the workers overstayed with one week and therefore should face unpaid but yet the written instruction is clear. The Union Officials visited the Parow Depot on Monday 8th June 2020 to assess the state of readiness for the workers to return to work the following Monday.

It is sad to say but the City of Cape Town (City) is really exposing our members as one could easily walk in and out of the Parow Depot, no temperature checking and no sanitizer. We tried for two hours to meet with the Depot Manager who could not entertain our request as she was in a management Skype meeting.
The Union advised all the workers who came to assess the Depot state of readiness to leave the Depot as their presence could lead to more Covid 19 cases. We are now told that workers will not get their salaries for one week but yet the written instruction says that workers should return to work on Monday 15th June 2020.

If management gave a wrong date, truly that cannot be our members fault. The City should rather descipline the manager who gave the written instruction for gross negligence in steady of punishing our members who complied with the written instruction. In any case the Depot was not ready with all the necessary safety measures from our observations on Monday 8th June 2020.

The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) demands full pay for the Parow workers, failure which we are at war. Our members are working under extremely difficult conditions with no appreciation from the City, not even danger allowances. Managers earning huge salaries are allowed to sit at home on full pay while ordinary workers who sacrifice with their lives to serve the public must be treated like trash.

Our members are here to sell their Labour and not their Lives.

For more information Contact:

Mikel Kumalo
SAMWU: Cape Metro Regional Secretary
083 265 1519

Or

Bridgette Nkomana
SAMWU: Cape Metro Deputy Regional Secretary
074 484 0316