SAMWU IS FURIOUS AT RAY NKONYENI’S CONTINOUS ATTEMPT TO FRUSTRATE WORKERS AND THE COMMUNITY THROUGH ITS MUNICIPAL MANAGER
27 February 2025
SAMWU IS FURIOUS AT RAY NKONYENI’S CONTINOUS ATTEMPT TO FRUSTRATE WORKERS AND THE COMMUNITY THROUGH ITS MUNICIPAL MANAGER
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) is outraged by the blatant failure of the African National Congress (ANC) to prioritize the community of Ray Nkonyeni. The Ratepayers Association, the business community, and the residents of Ray Nkonyeni will recall that an out-of-court agreement was reached between SAMWU and the Ray Nkonyeni municipality after the Municipal Manager failed to implement the arbitration award that was rightfully ruled in favor of SAMWU in September 2024.
The labor court proceedings today, have come at a time when approximately 60% of Ray Nkonyeni employees are still waiting for their deliberately withheld salaries. SAMWU believes these payments were intentionally delayed creating instability and disrupt service delivery within the municipality. It is unacceptable that we are still waiting to hear what actions the municipality’s council will take to correct this reckless and irresponsible behavior by the Municipal Manager. Once again, the workers of Ray Nkonyeni feel betrayed by the Ray Nkonyeni Council, despite an out-of-court settlement that allowed for the resumption of services, following intervention by the MEC of COGTA in KwaZulu-Natal. However, these efforts have once again been undermined by Municipal Manager Khetha Zulu, who continues to defy the Council and TROIKA of Ray Nkonyeni.
Municipal Manager has recklessly instructed attorneys to disregard the settlement agreement reached by all parties, using every possible tactic to continue with the review application filed in October 2024. This is in blatant violation of the terms of the settlement agreement, which clearly state that Ray Nkonyeni will withdraw the review and honor the agreed-upon terms with SAMWU.
The labour court had to appoint a different judge to hear SAMWU’s urgent application to postpone the review and remove it from the court roll so the parties could finaly see the implementation of the settlement agreement and focus on the urgent matters of service delivery and flooding disaster in the area of Ray Nkonyeni. Despite fierce opposition from the Municipal Manager, the postponement was rightfully granted in favor of SAMWU. Once again, SAMWU and its regional leaders have been vindicated. We have repeatedly raised our concerns with the Speaker and Mayor that the Municipal Manager’s actions are directly undermining the progressive agenda of the ANC, which is leading the council. The ANC in the region has failed to demonstrate effective leadership, continuing to allow the Municipal Manager to flout all authority and act without accountability.
In a recent staff meeting on February 25th, the ANC-led TROIKA took a clear decision and announced that they had instructed their lawyers, through the Municipal Manager, to withdraw the review from court roll and implement the terms of the settlement agreement. Yet, Khetha Zulu has persistently defied TROIKA’s direct orders, instructing attorneys to appoint senior counsel to continue pursuing the review, despite the council and TROIKA’s unambiguous decision that employees must be paid in accordance with the terms negotiated with the union.
We demand that the leadership of the ANC in both the province and the region take immediate and decisive action to ensure that the Municipal Manager is held fully accountable for his reckless and defiant actions. The workers of Ray Nkonyeni are rightfully furious that TROIKA has once again allowed the Municipal Manager to act with impunity, thus bringing the municipality’s reputation into serious disrepute. This cannot be allowed to continue.
Issued by SAMWU South Coast Region
Ntombifuthi Mzotho
Regional Secretary
0817042188
Or
Menzi Luthuli
Provincial Organizer
0827371504