MEMORANDUM OF DEMANDS
9 July 2026
SOUTH AFRICAN MUNICIPAL WORKERS’ UNION (SAMWU)
MEMORANDUM OF DEMANDS
NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
9 JULY 2026
TO:
The Minister of Finance / National Treasury
The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
The South African Local Government Association
The Minister of Water and Sanitation
The Premier of Gauteng
MEC of Local Government Gauteng
FROM:
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union
1. PREAMBLE
We, as directed by the 13th National Congress of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union, have gathered here today on behalf of more than 160 000 workers organised by SAMWU in municipalities and the water sector, our members, their families, and South Africans in general, to deliver this Memorandum of Demands.
We march because local government and the water sector are in crisis. Municipalities and water boards are at the coalface of service delivery, yet they continue to be weakened by underfunding, collapsing infrastructure, corruption, outsourcing, privatisation, non-payment of salaries and benefits, and the continued undermining of collective bargaining.
We march because workers in municipalities and water boards continue to suffer the consequences of poor political leadership, austerity budgeting, mismanagement, corruption, and the refusal of government and employers to properly fund and strengthen public services.
We march because municipal and water sector workers deliver essential services to communities every day. When municipalities collapse, communities suffer. When water boards are weakened, the right to water and sanitation is threatened. When workers are underpaid, under-resourced, attacked, outsourced, intimidated, dismissed or denied their benefits, service delivery collapses with them.
We march against the continued interference by National Treasury in municipal governance and collective bargaining. We march against the politicisation of worker benefits. We march against victimisation of members and shop stewards. We march against municipal underfunding, corruption, tenderisation, outsourcing, consultants, non-payment of salaries, non-payment of third parties, and the erosion of public services.
SAMWU therefore submits the following demands to National Treasury, COGTA, SALGA and the Department of Water and Sanitation.
2. FUNDING OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND REVIEW OF THE LGES FORMULA
We demand an immediate and comprehensive review of the Local Government Equitable Share formula to ensure that allocations to municipalities are based on the real and actual cost of delivering services to communities.
The current funding model has failed municipalities, workers and communities. It does not adequately take into account the rising cost of electricity, water, sanitation, waste management, roads, infrastructure maintenance, indigent support, climate adaptation, and the employment of sufficient municipal workers to deliver quality public services.
SAMWU therefore demands:
An immediate review of the Local Government Equitable Share formula based on real service delivery costs.
An increase in the local government share of nationally raised revenue to at least 15%.
An end to austerity measures that deliberately weaken municipalities and make service delivery impossible.
A funding model that recognises municipalities as developmental institutions, not profit-making entities.
A funding framework that supports service delivery, decent work, municipal stability and the rebuilding of internal capacity.
Proper funding for municipalities to deliver free basic services without compromising workers’ salaries, benefits, maintenance budgets or service delivery capacity.
An end to unfunded and underfunded mandates imposed on municipalities.
That National Treasury must stop treating local government as an afterthought in the national fiscus.
3. NATIONAL TREASURY INTERFERENCE AND DEFENCE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
We reject any attempt by National Treasury, municipalities, SALGA or any employer body to use circulars, budget instructions, austerity arguments or political pressure to undermine collective bargaining agreements concluded in bargaining councils.
Collective agreements are binding. They are not suggestions. They are not optional. They are not subject to political convenience, Treasury circulars, budget manipulation or the financial mismanagement of employers.
National Treasury is not a bargaining party. It must not be allowed to interfere in collective bargaining processes or encourage municipalities to renege on agreements lawfully concluded with workers.
SAMWU therefore demands:
An immediate end to the use of National Treasury circulars to justify non-implementation of SALGBC agreements and other binding collective agreements applicable to SAMWU members.
Full implementation of all collective agreements concluded in bargaining councils where SAMWU organises.
That National Treasury must stop interfering in collective bargaining processes.
That SALGA must ensure that all municipalities comply with collective agreements concluded in the SALGBC.
That water boards must fully comply with collective agreements applicable to workers in the water sector.
That no municipality or water board should be allowed to plead poverty while continuing to spend money on consultants, inflated contracts, irregular expenditure and politically connected service providers.
That collective bargaining must be respected as a constitutional and democratic right of workers.
That government must stop using austerity as a weapon against workers and public services.
That SALGA must stop encouraging municipalities to undermine workers’ gains under the cover of fiscal constraints.
4. PROTECTION OF MEMBERS, SHOP STEWARDS AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS
We condemn the continued victimisation, intimidation, suspension and dismissal of members and shop stewards for exercising their rights, defending workers and exposing wrongdoing in municipalities and the water sector.
Shop stewards are not enemies of service delivery. They are elected representatives of workers and must be protected, respected and allowed to perform their duties without fear of retaliation.
The victimisation of shop stewards is an attack on workers collectively. It is an attack on freedom of association. It is an attack on collective bargaining. It is an attack on democracy in the workplace.
SAMWU therefore demands:
An immediate end to the victimisation, intimidation, suspension and dismissal of SAMWU members and shop stewards.
The reinstatement of workers who have been unfairly dismissed, including the Tshwane 43 and Amatola Water 10 Shopstewards. Will include Maluti Shopstewards
That municipalities and water boards must respect organisational rights and stop treating trade union activity as misconduct.
That COGTA, SALGA and the Department of Water and Sanitation must intervene where municipalities and water boards abuse disciplinary processes to weaken organised labour.
That all unfair dismissals and suspensions linked to union activity must be reviewed and reversed.
5. IMPLEMENTATION OF POLITICALLY FACILITATED AGREEMENT (PFA)
SAMWU demands the immediate implementation of the Politically Facilitated Agreement (PFA) in the City of Johannesburg.
The PFA was concluded in 2016 to address salary disparities within the City. It was intended to correct historical salary inequalities and ensure fairness among workers who perform work of equal value but were subjected to unequal salary treatment.
The PFA is therefore not a political favour. It is not a luxury. It is not a gift from the City, council or political party. It is an agreement concluded to address real salary disparities affecting workers in the City of Johannesburg.
SAMWU rejects the continued politicisation of the PFA. Workers in the City of Johannesburg must not be punished because of political disagreements in Council. Workers must not be used as collateral in battles between political parties. Workers must not be denied what is due to them because National Treasury or any other institution seeks to interfere in municipal governance and collective bargaining.
We condemn National Treasury’s bullying of the City of Johannesburg into submission by threatening to withdraw, withhold or interfere with the City’s equitable share allocation. The equitable share is meant to support service delivery and the constitutional obligations of local government. It must never be weaponised to intimidate a municipality into abandoning an agreement aimed at addressing salary disparities.
This raises a fundamental question: who stands to benefit when the PFA is reversed or frustrated? It is certainly not the workers who keep the City functioning. It is not the communities who depend on municipal services. The only beneficiaries are those who want to weaken collective bargaining, impose austerity on municipalities, deepen salary inequalities, and create conditions for outsourcing, privatisation and the continued enrichment of consultants and politically connected service providers.
National Treasury is not a bargaining party. It cannot be allowed to use letters, circulars, threats or fiscal pressure to reverse agreements concluded to address worker inequalities. SALGA, the City of Johannesburg and government must respect agreements concluded with organised labour and must stop hiding behind Treasury to avoid obligations owed to workers.
SAMWU therefore demands:
The immediate implementation of the Politically Facilitated Agreement in the City of Johannesburg to address salary disparities.
An immediate end to the politicisation of the PFA and all attempts to use workers’ salaries as collateral in political battles within the City of Johannesburg.
That National Treasury must stop bullying the City of Johannesburg by threatening to withdraw, withhold or interfere with equitable share allocations in order to force the reversal or non-implementation of the PFA.
That the City of Johannesburg, must honour the PFA and must not use Treasury letters, circulars, threats or budget arguments to deny workers what is due to them.
6. CONCLUSION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WAGE CURVE
SAMWU demands the immediate conclusion and implementation of the Wage Curve Agreement in the South African Local Government Bargaining Council.
The Wage Curve is not a new demand. It is a long-outstanding matter that has been under negotiation in the Bargaining Council for many years. It is a tool intended to ensure that municipalities are graded correctly and that workers are remunerated equitably, fairly and consistently across the sector.
For too long, workers have been subjected to salary disparities, unequal treatment and inconsistencies in remuneration between municipalities and across categories of workers. These disparities undermine morale, dignity and fairness in the workplace.
SAMWU condemns SALGA for dragging its feet in concluding the Wage Curve Agreement with trade unions. Workers have waited for far too long. Many workers have dedicated their lives to local government and some have even passed away before seeing the implementation of this agreement.
Workers are tired of endless delays, excuses and postponements. The time for further delays has passed. The Wage Curve must be concluded and implemented without further delay.
SAMWU therefore demands:
The immediate conclusion of the Wage Curve Agreement in the South African Local Government Bargaining Council.
That SALGA must stop delaying negotiations and must table a concrete, funded and implementable proposal with clear timeframes.
That the Wage Curve must ensure proper grading of municipalities and equitable remuneration of workers across the local government sector.
That the agreement must correct salary disparities, promote fairness and ensure equal pay for work of equal value.
That implementation must be prioritised so that workers who have waited for years finally receive the justice and remuneration fairness they deserve.
6. NON-PAYMENT OF SALARIES, THIRD PARTIES, PENSION FUNDS, MEDICAL AID AND BENEFITS
SAMWU declares the non-payment of salaries, benefits and third parties as a red-line issue.
No worker should report for duty and return home unpaid. No worker’s pension, medical aid, UIF, tax, housing allowance, overtime or other benefit should be deducted and then not paid over to the relevant institution.
The non-payment of worker benefits and third-party deductions is not an administrative error or an oversight. It is theft from workers and we should call it exactly that.
SAMWU therefore demands:
That the non-payment of salaries, benefits and third parties be classified as a national crisis requiring immediate intervention.
Criminal and civil action against Accounting Officers, Municipal Managers, Chief Financial Officers, Chief Executive Officers and senior officials responsible for the theft or non-payment of worker benefits.
Personal accountability for Municipal Managers, Chief Financial Officers, Chief Executive Officers and Accounting Officers who fail to pay workers and their benefits.
Immediate intervention in all municipalities and water boards where salaries, pension contributions, medical aid contributions or statutory deductions are not paid.
That no municipality or water board should pay consultants, contractors, bonuses, performance rewards or senior managers’ perks while workers’ salaries and benefits remain unpaid.
That worker deductions must be treated as trust monies and protected from misuse.
That workers must be fully reimbursed for any loss, penalty, interest, lapsed benefit or prejudice suffered as a result of the non-payment of benefits by employers.
That municipalities must be compelled to prioritise salaries, benefits and third-party payments above non-essential expenditure.
That failure to pay worker deductions to third parties must trigger immediate intervention and consequence management.
7. RING-FENCING OF MAINTENANCE BUDGETS AND INFRASTRUCTURE RECOVERY IN MUNICIPALITIES AND WATER BOARDS
Municipal and water sector infrastructure is collapsing because maintenance budgets are either insufficient, diverted, mismanaged or sacrificed in the name of short-term political priorities.
Workers are then expected to perform miracles without tools of trade, proper equipment, protective clothing, vehicles, materials, chemicals, machinery, technical support or adequate staffing.
SAMWU therefore demands:
The ring-fencing of municipal and water sector maintenance budgets.
The establishment of a National Infrastructure Recovery Fund to support municipalities and water boards in rebuilding and maintaining critical infrastructure.
That maintenance budgets must not be redirected to cover unrelated expenditure.
Proper tools of trade, equipment, vehicles, materials, machinery, chemicals and protective clothing for municipal and water sector workers.
The prioritisation of water, sanitation, roads, electricity, waste management, wastewater treatment works, bulk water infrastructure, reservoirs, pump stations and public facilities in infrastructure recovery programmes.
Consequence management where infrastructure maintenance budgets are abused, diverted or mismanaged.
That maintenance must be treated as a public service priority and not as a budget item to be sacrificed when municipalities face financial pressure.
8. NATIONAL TREASURY AND COGTA BUSINESS UNITS PROJECT
SAMWU rejects the introduction and implementation of Business Units in municipalities as driven by National Treasury and COGTA, without proper, meaningful and genuine consultation with organised labour.
This Business Units project has serious implications for municipal workers, service delivery, municipal accountability, organisational structures, reporting lines, conditions of service, job security and collective bargaining. It cannot be imposed from above by National Treasury and COGTA as though workers and their unions are spectators in the restructuring of municipalities.
Despite SAMWU having raised objections in representations made to the Department, municipalities have already begun advertising Head of Department vacancies for Business Units. This clearly shows that the so-called consultation process was reduced to a tick-box exercise, while implementation was already being prepared or rolled out.
Consultation cannot be meaningful if decisions have already been taken. It cannot be genuine if workers and their unions are merely invited to comment after National Treasury, COGTA or municipalities have already determined the outcome. SAMWU will not accept processes that pretend to consult workers while restructuring is being implemented behind their backs.
SAMWU is concerned that the Business Units project may be used to fragment municipalities, weaken collective bargaining, alter conditions of service, restructure workers out of jobs, undermine existing organisational structures, and prepare the ground for outsourcing, privatisation and further consultant-driven models of municipal service delivery.
SAMWU therefore demands:
An immediate halt to the National Treasury and COGTA Business Units project in municipalities until there has been proper and meaningful consultation with SAMWU and organised labour.
That all advertisements, appointments and restructuring processes linked to Business Units, including HOD vacancies, must be suspended pending genuine consultation.
That Business Units must not be used to restructure workers out of jobs, undermine conditions of service, weaken collective bargaining, fragment municipalities or prepare the ground for outsourcing, privatisation and consultant-led service delivery.
That any future process dealing with municipal organisational models must be negotiated with organised labour and must protect workers, strengthen public service delivery and preserve municipal accountability.
9. PRIVATISATION, OUTSOURCING AND TENDERISATION OF CORE FUNCTIONS
SAMWU rejects the privatisation, outsourcing, consultant-dependency and tenderisation of core municipal and water sector functions. These practices have weakened public institutions, destroyed decent jobs, promoted corruption, hollowed out internal capacity and reduced the quality of services delivered to communities.
Municipalities and water boards must be capacitated to deliver services directly. Public services must remain public, accountable, affordable and delivered by workers who are permanently employed in the public sector.
The Auditor-General has revealed that, in the last financial year, municipalities collectively spent approximately R1.6 billion on consultants, yet there is little to nothing to show for this expenditure. This is a scandal. It is unacceptable that billions are spent on consultants while municipalities continue to collapse, workers are denied tools of trade, infrastructure is not maintained, and communities remain without reliable services.
We are concerned that outsourcing, tenderisation and the excessive use of consultants have become deliberate strategies to hollow out municipalities and water boards, weaken internal capacity and create space for private companies and politically connected service providers to profit from functions that should be performed by municipal and water sector workers.
Core functions such as water, sanitation, electricity distribution, waste management, roads, parks, cemeteries, public safety, administration, revenue collection, customer care, maintenance, laboratories, treatment works, pump stations and bulk water infrastructure must not be outsourced or handed over to consultants.
SAMWU therefore demands:
An immediate moratorium on the outsourcing, privatisation, consultant-dependency and tenderisation of core municipal and water sector functions.
The phased insourcing, re-municipalisation and re-publicisation of outsourced services, including the absorption of affected workers on decent terms and conditions.
The establishment of a National Insourcing Fund to support municipalities and water boards to bring outsourced services back in-house and rebuild internal capacity.
An end to the use of consultants and contractors for work that should be performed by permanently employed municipal and water sector workers.
That public funds must be used to build internal public sector capacity, create decent jobs, maintain infrastructure and improve service delivery, not to enrich private contractors, consultants and politically connected service providers.
10. FRAUD, CORRUPTION AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION
We condemn fraud, corruption, maladministration, tender manipulation, irregular appointments, political interference and the abuse of public resources in municipalities and the water sector.
Corruption is not a victimless crime. It steals from workers, communities and public services. It diverts money away from salaries, benefits, third-party payments, maintenance, tools of trade, infrastructure and service delivery.
As a Union, we have has lost many members who courageously blew the whistle against corruption and wrongdoing. These workers did not die for themselves. They stood up in defence of public resources, workers, communities and accountable government. Their deaths are a painful reminder that whistleblowing in South Africa often comes at a deadly cost.
Municipal and water sector workers are often the first to witness wrongdoing in the workplace. Yet workers and shop stewards who expose corruption are frequently victimised, isolated, suspended, dismissed, threatened, attacked or even killed. This creates a culture of fear and silence, while corrupt senior officials, politicians, consultants and service providers escape accountability.
SAMWU notes the ongoing legislative process around strengthening whistleblower protection in South Africa. While this process is welcomed, legislation on paper is not enough. Any new whistleblower protection law must be informed by the lived experiences of workers, shop stewards and families who have suffered intimidation, victimisation, dismissal, financial ruin, violence and death after exposing corruption.
We demand real protection, not symbolic protection. Whistleblower protection must include physical protection, legal support, financial support, confidentiality, protection for families, speedy investigation of threats, and harsh consequences for those who intimidate, attack or kill whistleblowers.
SAMWU rejects any anti-corruption programme that targets ordinary workers while protecting senior managers, politicians, consultants and service providers who are responsible for the looting and collapse of municipalities and public institutions.
SAMWU therefore demands:
That the whistleblower protection legislative process be strengthened and fast-tracked, with direct input from workers, unions, whistleblowers and the families of those who have been victimised or killed for exposing corruption.
Stronger physical, legal, financial and workplace protection for municipal and water sector workers who expose corruption, maladministration, benefit theft, irregular appointments, tender fraud and abuse of public resources, including protection for their families.
The establishment of a legal defence fund and protection mechanism for whistleblowers, shop stewards and workers who are victimised, threatened, attacked or dismissed for refusing unlawful instructions or exposing wrongdoing.
Decisive criminal, civil and disciplinary action against senior managers, accounting officers, politicians, consultants, contractors and service providers implicated in corruption, intimidation of whistleblowers, irregular expenditure and theft of public resources.
Close cooperation between municipalities, water boards, law enforcement agencies and organised labour to protect workers, investigate threats, recover stolen funds, end corruption and restore public confidence in local government and the water sector.
11. ENERGY SECURITY AND JUST TRANSITION
SAMWU believes that energy security must be understood as a public good, not a profit-making opportunity. Energy security must guarantee reliable, affordable and accessible electricity for communities, while protecting municipal revenue, jobs, collective bargaining and public ownership.
SAMWU opposes the privatisation, unbundling and centralisation of electricity distribution in a manner that weakens municipalities, destroys jobs, erodes municipal revenue and undermines local government.
Electricity distribution is a major source of municipal revenue and a critical public service. Any restructuring that removes this function from municipalities will deepen the financial crisis in local government, threaten jobs and weaken the ability of municipalities to deliver services.
SAMWU has noted with serious concern the collusion between National Treasury and Eskom to take away electricity distribution from municipalities through so-called Distribution Agency Agreements. These agreements are being presented as a solution to municipal debt owed to Eskom, but in reality they amount to Eskom taking over local electricity distribution, metering, billing and revenue collection from municipalities.
This is a direct attack on the constitutional role of municipalities. It weakens municipal revenue, undermines local accountability and places municipal electricity services on a path towards centralisation, corporatisation and eventual privatisation.
SAMWU rejects the use of municipal debt as a weapon to strip municipalities of their electricity distribution function. Municipal debt to Eskom must be addressed through proper funding, revenue support, infrastructure investment, credit control, debt relief and the rebuilding of municipal capacity, not through handing over municipal functions to Eskom.
We further reject the notion of load reduction as a solution to electricity challenges. Load reduction disproportionately affects the poor and the working class, particularly communities in townships, informal settlements and working-class areas. It punishes communities already carrying the burden of unemployment, poverty, high food prices, poor infrastructure and unaffordable basic services.
Load reduction is not a developmental solution. It is a form of energy exclusion. It deepens inequality by cutting off those who are least able to protect themselves, while wealthier communities and businesses are able to shield themselves through generators, solar systems and alternative energy sources.
We support a worker-centred Just Transition that protects jobs, strengthens municipalities, builds public ownership and creates decent work. The Just Transition must not be used as a cover for privatisation, outsourcing, job losses, revenue erosion, Eskom takeovers or the exclusion of poor and working-class communities from access to electricity.
SAMWU therefore demands:
An immediate halt to all attempts by National Treasury and Eskom to force municipalities into Distribution Agency Agreements that remove electricity distribution, billing, metering and revenue collection from municipalities.
The rejection of any electricity restructuring model that weakens municipalities, erodes municipal revenue, destroys jobs, undermines collective bargaining or prepares the ground for privatisation.
The rejection of load reduction as a punitive measure that disproportionately affects the poor, the working class, townships and informal settlements.
Support for municipally owned electricity distribution and municipally owned renewable energy generation, maintenance and distribution in the public interest.
That all Just Transition and electricity reform plans must guarantee job security, protect municipal revenue, ensure affordable electricity access for poor and working-class communities, and involve organised labour directly in planning and implementation.
12. WATER AND SANITATION SERVICES, WATER BOARDS AND MUNICIPAL WATER FUNCTIONS
Water and sanitation are basic human rights. Yet communities continue to experience water cuts, sewage spillages, failing wastewater treatment works, ageing infrastructure, poor maintenance, and the weakening of both municipal water services and water boards.
SAMWU organises workers in municipalities and in the water sector. These workers are central to the delivery of water, sanitation, bulk water infrastructure, wastewater treatment, maintenance and public health protection.
We are deeply concerned that some water boards continue to treat collective agreements as if they are optional, unaffordable or a luxury. This is unacceptable. Collective agreements are binding and must be implemented fully. Workers in the water sector are not asking for favours; they are demanding what has been negotiated and agreed upon.
Municipal and water sector workers are expected to respond to service delivery failures without proper staffing, tools, vehicles, chemicals, PPE, maintenance budgets and technical support. They cannot be expected to keep water flowing while their own agreements, benefits, allowances and conditions of service are ignored.
SAMWU therefore demands:
Urgent intervention by the Department of Water and Sanitation in collapsing municipal water and sanitation systems and distressed water boards.
Full implementation of collective agreements in water boards, including salary increases, allowances, benefits and conditions of service, without delay or selective compliance.
Proper funding for the maintenance, upgrading and recovery of municipal and water board infrastructure, together with the employment of sufficient technical and operational staff.
An end to outsourcing and consultant-dependency in core water and sanitation functions, with a national programme to rebuild internal public water and sanitation capacity.
That any water sector reform, restructuring, merger or institutional change must protect jobs, public ownership, collective bargaining, worker safety and service delivery.
That the illegal decision to dissolve MAP Water in the Free State should be urgently reviewed and that the entity be capacitated to deliver services to residents.
13. DEVELOPMENTAL MANDATE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE BANK
We firmly believe that macroeconomic policy must serve workers, communities and development. Monetary policy cannot be separated from unemployment, poverty, inequality, municipal collapse, water insecurity and the cost-of-living crisis.
Through COSATU, SAMWU supports the call for a developmental mandate for the South African Reserve Bank. Fiscal and monetary policy must support public investment, decent work, industrialisation and the rebuilding of local government and the water sector.
SAMWU therefore demands:
A developmental mandate for the South African Reserve Bank.
The nationalisation and democratisation of the South African Reserve Bank.
Democratisation of the SARB Board and Monetary Policy Committee.
Labour representation in monetary policy structures.
Monetary policy that supports employment creation, industrialisation, public investment, service delivery and an end to austerity imposed on municipalities, water boards and workers.
14. IMMEDIATE DEMANDS TO NATIONAL TREASURY
SAMWU demands that National Treasury must:
Review the Local Government Equitable Share formula and increase the local government share of nationally raised revenue to at least 15%.
Stop issuing letters, circulars, threats or budget instructions that undermine collective bargaining, worker benefits and agreements concluded with organised labour.
Stop bullying municipalities, including the City of Johannesburg, by threatening to withdraw, withhold or interfere with equitable share allocations in order to force the reversal of workers’ gains.
Support the establishment of a National Infrastructure Recovery Fund and a National Insourcing Fund to rebuild internal public sector capacity.
Fund municipalities in a manner that enables them to deliver services, pay workers, honour third-party obligations, maintain infrastructure and protect public services
Support the transformation of municipal pension funds to ensure that they are democratic, transparent, worker-centred and accountable to the workers whose deferred wages they manage.
15. IMMEDIATE DEMANDS TO COGTA
SAMWU demands that COGTA must:
Intervene in municipalities that fail to pay salaries, benefits and third parties.
Hold Municipal Managers, Chief Financial Officers and senior officials personally accountable for benefit theft, non-payment, corruption and maladministration.
Support the re-professionalisation of municipal technical departments, the filling of funded vacancies and the rebuilding of internal municipal capacity.
Halt the Business Units project driven with National Treasury until there has been proper, meaningful and genuine consultation with SAMWU and organised labour.
Ensure that municipal recovery plans, restructuring processes and turnaround strategies protect workers, respect collective bargaining and strengthen public service delivery.
Support the transformation of municipal pension funds to ensure that they are democratic, transparent, worker-centred and accountable to the workers whose deferred wages they manage.
Ensure that municipalities allow employees to participate in wellness programmes, and that such programmes are properly funded, accessible and treated as part of protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of workers.
16. IMMEDIATE DEMANDS TO SALGA
SAMWU demands that SALGA must:
Stop undermining collective bargaining and ensure that all municipalities implement SALGBC collective agreements such as the Payment of PFA and the payment of 5.4% salary increase in Tshwane.
Stop dragging its feet on the Wage Curve and conclude an agreement with unions without further delay.
Stop encouraging municipalities to use financial difficulties, Treasury circulars or austerity arguments as excuses to attack workers and reverse gains.
Ensure the implementation of salary adjustments, EMPD salary matters, post-retirement medical aid obligations, grading-related matters and other outstanding worker benefits.
Work with SAMWU to protect workers, end outsourcing, fill funded vacancies, rebuild municipal capacity and stabilise local government.
6. Ensure the immediate payment of the outstanding COVID-19 allowance owed to workers.
7. Ensure the introduction and payment of post-retirement medical aid for workers.
8. Support the transformation of municipal pension funds to ensure that they are democratic, transparent, worker-centred and accountable to the workers whose deferred wages they manage.
17. IMMEDIATE DEMANDS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION
SAMWU demands that the Department of Water and Sanitation must:
Rein in rogue Chief Executives who have made the suspension and dismissal of workers the order of the day
Support municipalities and water boards with funding, technical capacity, staffing and infrastructure recovery.
End the outsourcing of core water and sanitation services and support the rebuilding of internal public water capacity.
Ensure that water boards comply with collective agreements, respect organised labour and protect workers during restructuring, mergers, disestablishments or institutional reforms.
Work with SAMWU in developing worker-centred water and sanitation turnaround plans that protect jobs, public ownership, collective bargaining, worker safety and service delivery.
That the illegal decision to dissolve MAP Water in the Free State should be urgently reviewed and that the entity be capacitated to deliver services to residents.
18. IMMEDIATE DEMANDS TO THE PREMIER OF GAUTENG AND THE MEC FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
SAMWU demands that the Premier of Gauteng and the MEC responsible for Local Government must urgently intervene in municipalities across the province where workers’ rights, benefits and collective agreements continue to be undermined.
The Gauteng Provincial Government cannot be a spectator while municipalities fail to honour obligations to workers, victimise shop stewards and undermine service delivery. Provincial leadership must act decisively to stabilise municipalities, protect workers and ensure that agreements are implemented.
SAMWU therefore demands:
That the Premier and MEC work with the City of Johannesburg to ensure the immediate implementation and payment of the Politically Facilitated Agreement (PFA).
That the Gauteng Provincial Government ensure the proper grading of West Rand municipalities and the adjustment of EMPD salaries without further delay.
That all outstanding worker benefits, including leave encashment and third-party payments at West Rand District Municipality, be paid immediately.
That the Premier and MEC intervene to ensure the reinstatement of the Tshwane 43 and put an end to the victimisation of SAMWU shop stewards and members.
That municipalities stop the excessive and abusive use of lawyers in disciplinary hearings, particularly where such processes are used to intimidate workers, weaken shop stewards and waste public funds that should be directed to service delivery.
19. TIMEFRAMES AND RESPONSE
We therefore demand a written response to this Memorandum of Demands within 14 working from today.
We further demand an urgent joint engagement between SAMWU, National Treasury, COGTA, SALGA and the Department of Water and Sanitation to discuss these demands and agree on a concrete programme of action.
This engagement must not be a public relations exercise. It must result in clear commitments, timeframes, accountability mechanisms and a programme to address the crisis facing local government, the water sector, workers and communities.
Should these demands not be addressed, SAMWU reserves the right to intensify its programme of action in defence of municipal workers, water sector workers, collective bargaining, public services and communities.
20. CONCLUSION
Municipal and water sector workers are not the cause of the crisis in local government and the water sector. Workers are the backbone of service delivery.
The crisis will not be resolved through austerity, outsourcing, privatisation, consultants, attacks on collective bargaining or the victimisation of workers. It will be resolved by properly funding municipalities and water boards, rebuilding internal capacity, respecting workers, protecting public services and placing communities before profit.
SAMWU therefore declares that the struggle to defend workers is inseparable from the struggle to defend public services, the right to water, the right to sanitation, the right to electricity, and the future of developmental local government.
We reject municipal underfunding.
We reject Treasury interference.
We reject the use of the equitable share as a weapon against workers.
We reject the politicisation of workers’ benefits.
We reject the victimisation of members and shop stewards.
We reject load reduction that punishes the poor and the working class.
We reject tenderisation, outsourcing, consultants, fraud and corruption.
We reject the non-payment of salaries, benefits and third parties.
We will organise!
We will mobilise!
We will fight!
Thus delivered by the South African Municipal Workers’ Union on 9 July in Tshwane.