Job bonanza for 1‚400 contract workers at City of Johannesburg

Beneficiaries of the abolished Jozi@Work programme – notorious for staging protests during which city streets were trashed – are among a group of 1‚400 people who will be insourced by the City of Johannesburg‚ mayor Herman Mashaba has announced

This follows negotiations with the South African Municipal Workers' Union‚ Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union and Pikitup management. A decision was taken to insource some contract workers and some of the former Jozi@Work beneficiaries.

The contract workers will see their earnings increase from R2‚200 to R6‚000 per month once they are employed on a permanent basis.

Jozi@Work was introduced by the ANC administration to link young people with job opportunities through partnerships with the private sector. But when Mashaba took over in 2016‚ he ended the initiative.

He said: “The Jozi@Work programme was a tool used to ensure political patronage‚ where ward councillors sat on panels and allocated job opportunities. This in itself was a flawed process‚ as councillors should not be allowed to interfere in the employment of workers in the city.”

In February‚ protesters believed to be part of the former Jozi@Work initiative marched to Metro Centre‚ attacked shop stewards of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union and then went on a rampage‚ scattering waste on roads in Hillbrow and Braamfontein. In September last year‚ Pikitup was faced with similar protests from ex-Jozi@Work beneficiaries‚ who demanded permanent employment in the city. The damage cost the city R50‚000 a day for the additional resources it had to use‚ it said.

The contract workers to be insourced form part of a group who lodged a long-standing employment dispute with Pikitup.

Mashaba said: “While we are only able to accommodate 1‚400 of the total 3‚000 former employees‚ consisting of both Jozi@Work and 2010 contract workers‚ due to budget constraints from Pikitup‚ it must be noted that the issue is not with the number of people employed. Rather‚ our main priority is ensuring that fair remuneration and dignity is provided to these contract workers.

“In advancing the process further‚ Pikitup will now apply for an exemption from the National Exemption Committee of the National Bargaining Council in order to allow for the insourcing of these former contract workers. In addition‚ the entity will also undertake a verification process of those who are to be insourced. “This is a short-term intervention that is meant to give our people dignity and value in working for the residents of this city. I am satisfied that our efforts have brought us all to consensus‚ given the city’s budgetary limitations.”