By Mark Ogagan
Streets of South Africa’s commercial hub, Johannesburg, have become permanent refuse dumps as talks between waste management entity Pikitup and its casual workers remain deadlocked.
The workers, who have been striking to demand permanent employment, claim they have been cleaning the streets of Johannesburg for as little as R120 a day.
The strike, which began last week, involves hundreds of casual workers and has left the waste collection service unable to remove rubbish in the city. Workers allege unfair human resources practices within Pikitup.
Protesters have blocked depot entrances, preventing trucks from accessing the depots to dump waste. One of the workers on strike, Liso Mtshiyo, says their demands for permanent employment.
Mtshiyo says, “We are crying because now Pikitup decided to advertise the job publicly. What about us as contractors? Because most of us work more than three months and then after three months, they advertise the job. So now, why should we work for labour brokers for such a long time? Because since October, until now, we’ve been working for R120 days, R150 a day. I mean, we want serious jobs…”
“We want a better future and of course, we want to see Johannesburg clean. We hear that the councillors and the shop stewards are busy employing their cousins. We just want a permanent job,” Mtshiyo adds.
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