SAMWU WISHES GOVERNMENT WELL ON HOSTING G20, COMMITS TO INTENSIFYING THE FIGHT FOR WORKERS

20 November 2025

SAMWU WISHES GOVERNMENT WELL ON HOSTING G20, COMMITS TO INTENSIFYING THE FIGHT FOR WORKERS

The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in Gauteng proudly notes and appreciates the significant progress registered by our dedicated members and their leadership in the City of Johannesburg and the City of Tshwane. This progress is marked by the signing of the Politically Facilitated Agreement in Johannesburg and the anticipated payment of the hard-fought 3.5% salary increase in Tshwane. This victory is a testament to the power of organized labour and the necessity of political resolve.

We acknowledge the crucial role played by the Gauteng Provincial Government, led by Premier Panyaza Lesufi, in ensuring that these critical worker issues were decisively addressed. SAMWU pledges to continue supporting the Premier in his vital endeavour to realise municipalities that are stable, accountable, and capable of delivering essential services to all citizens of Gauteng.

Having secured these important domestic gains, SAMWU extends its full support and best wishes to our government for the successful hosting of the upcoming G20 Summit. Our dedicated members across Mogale City, Ekurhuleni, the City of Tshwane, and Johannesburg have been tirelessly ensuring that our Province is impeccably prepared to host world leaders.

We sincerely hope and trust that the declaration emerging from this global assembly will not overlook the urgent needs of the local communities but will cover aspects that specifically seek to address the economic and social issues of the working class and the poor, ensuring that global progress translates into local upliftment.

Post the finalisation of issues in Tshwane and Johannesburg, SAMWU Provincial Office Bearers met with the Provincial Government and secured a firm commitment to extend interventions to other struggling municipalities. These meetings are scheduled to convene in the next two weeks with Ekuthuleni, West Rand Municipalities, and Sedibeng.

This intervention is critical and will focus on key systemic issues including building the capacity of municipalities to deliver services efficiently, addressing the costly and adversarial utilisation of external attorneys in disciplinary hearings, ensuring the proper grading and categorization of municipalities in the West Rand for fair resource allocation, defending the integrity of collective bargaining, and finalizing outstanding issues pertaining to the Metro Police in Ekurhuleni.

Finally, SAMWU calls on all workers to be acutely aware of the forces that actively work against their interests. We have unequivocally noted the anti-worker stance of the Democratic Alliance (DA) on the hard-won gains registered by our members. Workers are reminded that it was the DA-led administrations which specifically stopped the payment of the 3.5% in Tshwane and deliberately frustrated the implementation of the Politically Facilitated Agreement in Johannesburg.

For the last five years, the DA in these metros has consistently and systematically frustrated all outcomes of collective bargaining that benefit the working class. SAMWU remains committed to vigorously defending all gains secured by our members against political elites that seeks to undermine labour rights and dignity.

Issued by SAMWU Gauteng Province

Mpho Tladinyane
Provincial Secretary
083 941 5888

Or

Julia Phakula
Deputy Provincial Secretary
07837170898