The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) says it will not allow the DA to reverse salary gains for municipal workers in the City of Johannesburg after the party launched legal action to stop the implementation of a wage agreement.
This follows a dispute over a R10.3bn salary redress agreement for municipal workers in Johannesburg.
The city said it is financially stable enough to afford the agreement over the next three years. However, the DA has opposed the deal and is taking the matter to court, arguing it places an unsustainable burden on the city’s budget and threatens essential service delivery.
City spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said the salary redress report was approved by the council in 2024, but the amount owed to workers had not yet been included in the budget.
DA Johannesburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said the city should prioritise infrastructure and basic services instead of committing to what she called an unaffordable agreement.
“Instead of directing limited resources toward fixing pipes, repairing substations, maintaining roads and restoring law and order, the administration is committing the city to a R10bn agreement it cannot fund. The DA is not opposed to inflation-based increases, [but] this decision is fiscally reckless and irresponsible,” she said.
Samwu said it stands in “full solidarity” with municipal workers and criticised the DA for trying to block the agreement.
“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,” said the union.
Samwu said the politically facilitated agreement (PFA) was negotiated to address salary disparities that have existed in the municipality for many years.
“As Samwu, we wish to make it clear that the agreement reached in Johannesburg is not a reckless or arbitrary wage increase as portrayed by the DA.”
The union said the PFA is intended to address historical salary disparities that have existed for decades in the city. According to the union, the agreement represents a negotiated process aimed at correcting wage injustices and restoring fairness to workers who have been systematically disadvantaged for many years.
The union warned that stopping the agreement would affect many families who depend on municipal workers’ salaries.
“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.”
Samwu said it would oppose any attempt to reverse the agreement.
“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,” said the union. “Workers fought for these gains, and they must be honoured.”
Samwu also called on the city to ensure the agreement is implemented and to make sure workers receive the money owed to them.
“The city must therefore ensure that the commitments made through the PFA are honoured and that workers receive the money due to them in accordance with the agreed implementation framework.”
Samwu said it remains committed to defending the rights, dignity and livelihoods of municipal workers and will continually oppose what it labelled “class enemies”, such as the DA, which 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.”
TimesLIVE
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