SAMWU Raises Alarm Over Governance Failures, Worker Safety, and Crumbling Labour Relations
26 May 2026
SAMWU Raises Alarm Over Governance Failures, Worker Safety, and Crumbling Labour Relations
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Nelson Mandela Bay Region, is deeply concerned by the continued deterioration of governance, labour relations, and working conditions within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. Municipal workers remain the backbone of service delivery, ensuring communities receive water, sanitation, electricity, waste removal, road maintenance, and essential customer care. Yet, they are increasingly expected to perform these vital duties under unsafe, unstable, and unacceptable conditions.
As SAMWU, we are particularly alarmed that workers continue to be denied proper tools of trade, protective clothing, and safe environments. This failure not only undermines productivity but directly places the lives and well-being of our members at risk. It is unacceptable that officials entrusted with ensuring compliance continue to fail workers without facing consequences for their negligence, mediocrity, and dereliction of duty.
This administrative failure stems from a severe leadership vacuum. The Metro continues to operate under an Acting City Manager while the appointed City Manager, Dr Nqwazi, remains on indefinite suspension. A municipality of this size and complexity cannot be run effectively through temporary arrangements that weaken accountability and paralyse decision-making. Compounding this crisis, not a single directorate is led by a permanent Executive Director. This instability was exacerbated by the Council’s failure to finalise the organisational structure by the 30 June 2025 deadline. Ultimately, workers and communities bear the brunt of this administrative paralysis.
As SAMWU, we also fiercely condemn the rampant vandalism of municipal facilities, including libraries, community halls, and depots, which leaves workers exposed to undignified environments. The situation at the Despatch municipal depot is particularly disgraceful, the facility has been completely vandalised, forcing staff to operate out of vehicles without basic ablution facilities. This is a direct violation of workers’ rights to dignity and safety. While the municipality has established an anti-vandalism committee, its complete lack of results shows it is toothless. We demand immediate, practical interventions to secure facilities so workers can deliver quality services safely.
Compounding these environmental hazards is a blatant disregard for labour relations procedures. As SAMWU, we note with outrage the municipality’s failure to finalise disciplinary cases within the prescribed timeframes. Numerous employees have been left in limbo well beyond the 90-day limit stipulated in the disciplinary collective agreement. Most shockingly, an official from Infrastructure and Engineering has reportedly been on suspension for five years without a conclusion, while multiple Budget and Treasury staff face prolonged extensions. This practice is both psychologically damaging to workers and financially wasteful to the municipality, which continues to pay full salaries alongside acting allowances for replacement staff. Suspensions must never be weaponised as pre-emptive punishment.
Furthermore, the incomplete job evaluation process continues to undermine fairness. Many employees are still working without proper job descriptions or remain stuck on incorrect, outdated pay grades. Workers cannot be expected to perform duties without clear roles and fair remuneration.
In light of these pressing challenges, SAMWU demands that the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality take immediate action to:
Fill all critical senior management vacancies permanently without further delay.
Finalise the organisational structure and complete the job evaluation process.
Implement robust security measures to protect municipal buildings and staff.
Provide workers with proper tools of trade and protective clothing.
Expedite the fair resolution of all outstanding disciplinary matters.
Hold accountable all officials responsible for non-compliance and poor performance.
As SAMWU, we remain committed to constructive engagement in the interest of workers, communities, and local government stability. However, we will not fold our arms while our members are placed at risk, labour processes are undermined, and governance failures go unpunished. We will continue to fiercely resist unsafe working conditions and unfair labour practices. The Metro cannot continue down a path of neglect; it must act with urgency and accountability now.
Issued by SAMWU Nelson Mandela Bay Region
Siphokazi Lobishe
Regional Secretary
073 296 2303