SAMWU Mogale City Statement

August 21, 2023 adminPress

01 May 2022

SAMWU Mogale City on this important day wishes ALL Workers a happy Workers Day. It is quite sad that on this special day of the Workers internationally, members of SAMWU in Mogale City continue to face injustices, inequalities, victimisation and are still fighting for what duly belongs to them under the DA led municipality. SAMWU: Mogale City pens this statement with great disappointment on the dirty tricks the Municipality is engaging upon of threatening our members, ill forming and misleading the Community of Mogale City in relation to the Wage Gap matter.

Background

On the 19th of November 2021 Honourable Acting Justice Mokoena ordered Mogale City Council to seat on the 28 February 2022, deliberate and resolve on the long outstanding matter of the wage gap. The matter draws as far back as 2017, when assistant managers were promoted by the municipality in 2017 from Salary level 5-4 to Salary level 4-4b an addition of two (2) levels up which is an additional 15% on their salaries. Some benefited an increase of R 94 000.00 in the annual package. It must further be noted that Assistant Managers do not fall under Section 56 of the Municipal Systems Act and receive the same percentage of Salary increment that municipal employees receive every year. In simple terms Assistant Managers are covered in the SALGBC, SAMWU and Imatu salary agreements.

It must further be noted that the Wage Gap Committee report that was presented before Council was not the final work that the Wage Gap Committee members adopted, the Acting MM knows this fact including the Executive Mayor and yet they still chose to go with its recommendations. The court order firstly ordered the municipal manager to table a wage gap committee report within 7 days for approval, thereafter to be recommended to council as a budgeting item on the 28 February as it was budget adjustment and the labour court intended the matter to have been finalised in that manner, however the municipality dismally failed to comply with the order. SAMWU took it upon themselves to ensure that the Court Order is honoured. Wage Gap Committee Report and other supporting documents were made available to the Executive Mayor with an intension of better informing council prior to the meeting.

Documents made to the Executive mayor are as follows:

• SAMWU’s award on the wage gap dated 25 February 2020.
• SAMWU’s enforcement award, instructing the sheriff to attach Mogale City Local Municipality’s assets
• Labour court judgement
• Wage Committee Report with the former MM’s recommendations.
• 21st Century Report which was a guiding tool towards remuneration of assistant managers.
• Calculation done by internal experts, the one who by the way they trust their calculations when it comes to the monthly salaries and fail to acknowledge the Calculations they did in the Wage Gap Committee. The calculations composed of the total to be paid.
• Minutes of the wage gap committee and meetings held with the acting MM.

It must be noted that the Executive Mayor chose the easy way out and did not consider all the facts that were before him.

Council Meeting

The Council meeting was then held on the 28th of February 2022 where the Wage Gap item was discussed in Committee, i.e. the matter was only discussed by Councillors and the Acting MM, other Administration Officers were requested to leave the virtual meeting.

A council resolution was then taken that:

1. “Cognizance be taken on the following:
That the Previous Sub Committee WAGE GAP COMMITTEE be reconstituted as two of the members are no longer employed by Mogale.
1. That the committee consist of 5 representatives from administration including Legal, HR and an expert in the field: 3 SAMWU ANS 3 IMATU REPRESENTATIVES.
2. That due process and correct channels are to be followed to determine the diferrent notches, positions and the findings to determine if there is Wage Gap across the board in the municipality and what the Wage Gap is.”

It must be noted also that on the feedback session that the Executive Mayor had with SAMWU and Imatu on the 28th of February 2022, that this Wage Gap Committee that is to be reconstituted has a deadline of 31 March 2022, because this matter must find its expression in the 2022/23 Financial Year budget. We have video recordings and voice notes to this fact that has been omitted in the Council resolution. The Acting MM including the Executive Mayor further mentioned that this Council Resolution will be made available immediately Labour confirms that they will be part of the Committee. SAMWU confirmed on the 02 March 2022 that they will be part of the Wage Gap Committee.

SAMWU wrote to the Acting MM and Executive Mayor to find out when will the Council Resolution going to be made available to us and when will the Committee meeting going to be convened. We only received a response from the Acting MM that said: “Await for Council resolution from Speaker’s office” that was hand written by Acting MM on the 07 March 2022. SAMWU wrote once again the office of the Executive Mayor and Acting MM asking when will the Wage Gap Committee meeting will be convened and has the municipality appointed the Independent Expert. There was no response from both the acting MM and the Executive Mayor. This is a clear indication that the municipality never had a will to resolve the Wage Gap and has no respect and regard for the rule of law because it is in contempt of Court.

COSATU March

COSATU West Rand has intervened and organised a March for the 28 and 29 April 2022 to hand over a Memorandum of Demand, demanding Immediate Payment of the Wage Gap for Mogale City workers. Numerous calls were made to COSATU by the Executive Mayor in an effort to stop the March, he even responded to the notice of the March that the March is not in line with the Gathering Act of 1993. COSATU clarified the mayor that the March was applied for in line with the Gatherings Act and its Prescripts. Upon finalising the Routes for the March COSATU was surprised when Councillor Trump from DA tendered an Affidavit in an attempt to stop the march due to a Council meeting scheduled for the 28th of April 2022. COSATU further mentioned in the Memorandum of Demand that they will give the Mayor 24 hours to provide feedback on when will the Wage Gap matter be paid. A copy of the Memorandum of Demand is available upon request.

We are very much surprised to learn that a peaceful march is a considered a wild cat strike by the Executive Mayor.

Response to a Memorandum of Demand by the Executive Mayor

The response of the Executive Mayor which he read to our Members on the 29 April 2022 was not addressing our question on when will the Wage Gap matter be paid. The Executive Mayor then agreed to include clear and proper time frames in his response.

We are very much surprised as a Union to see that the Executive Mayor opted to pen down a statement that is misleading the community about the Wage Gap while members of SAMWU are waiting for his response! We wish to put it on record that members of SAMWU are disciplined comrades who will never in no way intimidate anyone or even damage any municipal property. All these threats and lies perpetuated against SAMWU are a ploy to shift the focus on Wage Gap by the municipality.

Conclusion

In conclusion, SAMWU: Mogale demand a proper response with proper time frames from the Executive Mayor, Cllr Tyrone Michael Gray on:

1. when will the municipality pay the Wage Gap,
2. we demand that he stops threatening our members on Social and media Platforms
3. And stop misleading the community of Mogale City in relation to the Wage Gap Matter

In closing, During the funeral of Joe Gqabi, 1981 in Harare, President Tambo closed off by saying: “The future is bright. The end is glorious; it is peaceful. But the intervening period is dark, bitter and finds glory in the act of struggle.”

FORWARD WITH PAYMENT OF THE WAGE GAP FORWARD!!!

Issued by SAMWU Mogale City

Zama Sigabi
Local Secretary
078 086 7250

Justice Nkomo
Local Chairperson
067 087 3066