SAMWU Reaches Settlement Agreement with Metsimaholo Municipality

01 November 2017

SAMWU Reaches Settlement Agreement with Metsimaholo Municipality

The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) is pleased to announce that negotiations between our selves and the management of Metsimaholo Local Municipality in the Free State has yielded good results for our members.

The Metsimaholo Municipality had dismissed over 180 of our members for having have participated in a strike action in September 2014. Some of the 180 employees were later reinstated but 32 employees were left out. Today (01 November), the remaining 32 dismissed employees will be reporting for duty following the ground breaking settlement which was reached with management.

As per the settlement agreement, all employees will be reemployed by the Municipality on the level which the employees was employed at prior to their dismissal. Although we would have loved for the members to be reinstated instead of reemployed, we believe that this settlement agreement is a win-win for all parties given the fact that this matter had taken over 3 years to be resolved.

“I am happy that I will be reporting to duty this week, service delivery in this community had been heavily compromised as a result of our dismissal. I want to ensure that I work with others to bring back the pride that we all had with this area. Over and above that I am very happy that I will now be putting food on the table, feeding my wife and children” said an employee who could not withhold his excitement on hearing the news of his reemployment.

We thank all parties involved in ensuring the conclusion of these discussions. We also thank our members for the confidence and patience they had in the union to ensure the conclusion of these discussions in their favour.

Issued by SAMWU Free State Province

Thabang Tseuoa
Provincial Secretary
(082) 620-9160

Or

Papikie Mohale
National Media Officer
073 710 0356