SAMWU WILL NOT ALLOW ANTI-WORKER DA TO REVERSE WORKERS’ GAINS IN GAUTENG

8 March 2026

SAMWU WILL NOT ALLOW ANTI-WORKER DA TO REVERSE WORKERS’ GAINS IN GAUTENG

The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) expresses its full solidarity with municipal workers in the City of Johannesburg in the face of continued attempts by the Democratic Alliance (DA) to undermine the implementation of the Politically Facilitated Agreement (PFA) intended to correct long-standing salary disparities affecting thousands of workers in the municipality.

The recent decision by the DA to serve legal papers in an attempt to stop the implementation of this agreement confirms what workers across the country have long known: the DA has consistently positioned itself as a political formation that is hostile to workers and their rights. Time and again, the DA has sought to undermine collective bargaining agreements, reverse hard-won labour gains, and portray workers’ wages as the primary cause of municipal challenges.

The developments in Johannesburg must also be understood in the broader political context of similar positions taken by the DA in other municipalities, most notably in the City of Tshwane. In Tshwane, the DA-led administration refused to implement legally negotiated wage agreements and dragged workers through years of litigation and uncertainty. Today, the same party seeks to interfere in Johannesburg in an attempt to prevent workers from receiving the financial adjustments that arise from the Politically Facilitated Agreement concluded after extensive negotiations.

For SAMWU, this is not an isolated incident but part of a clear and consistent pattern in which the DA attempts to erode workers’ rights whenever it governs or influences municipal administrations. These attacks are particularly troubling given that the overwhelming majority of municipal workers are black workers who rely on their wages not only to support their immediate households but also extended family networks. In many communities, a single worker’s income sustains multiple dependents, including unemployed relatives, elderly parents and school-going children.

Attempts to reverse wage agreements therefore have consequences that extend far beyond the workplace. They directly affect the livelihoods of entire families and communities that depend on municipal workers for survival.

As SAMWU, we wishes to make it clear that the agreement reached in Johannesburg is not a reckless or arbitrary wage increase as portrayed by the DA. The Politically Facilitated Agreement is intended to address historical salary disparities that have existed for decades within the City of Johannesburg. It represents a negotiated process aimed at correcting wage injustices and restoring fairness to workers who have been systematically disadvantaged for many years.

We categorically make it clear and known that as a Union, we will not allow the DA or any political formation to strip workers of gains that have been achieved through years of struggle, negotiation and sacrifice. Workers fought for these gains and they must be honoured.

As the country moves closer to the next local government elections, workers have an opportunity to reflect carefully on the political choices before them. Municipal workers and their families have seen clearly where the DA stands when it comes to the interests of workers. It is a party that repeatedly seeks to roll back labour gains, undermine collective agreements and shift the burden of municipal financial challenges onto the shoulders of workers.

SAMWU therefore calls on workers, their families and the broader working-class communities to reject political formations that seek to undermine workers’ rights. If the DA were to gain control of more strategic municipalities, the experiences seen in Tshwane and the current attempts to interfere in Johannesburg provide a clear indication of what workers can expect: further attempts to reverse labour gains and weaken collective bargaining outcomes.

At the same time, we call on the leadership of the City of Johannesburg to stand firm in defence of its workforce. A municipality that claims to care about service delivery must also care about the workers who provide those services on a daily basis. Defending workers and honouring agreements reached through negotiation is an essential part of building a stable and functional municipal administration.

The City must therefore ensure that the commitments made through the Politically Facilitated Agreement are honoured and that workers receive the monies due to them in accordance with the agreed implementation framework.

As SAMWU, we remain committed to defending the rights, dignity and livelihoods of municipal workers and will continually oppose class enemies like the DA that seek to undermine collective bargaining and workers’ rights. We will continue to mobilise, organise and, where necessary, pursue all avenues to ensure that the gains made by workers in Johannesburg, and across the country are protected from political interference.

Issued by SAMWU Gauteng Province

Mpho Tladinyane,
Provincial Secretary,
(083 941 5888)

Or Julia Phakula,
Deputy Provincial Secretary
(083 717 0898)