The City of Johannesburg’s waste management company Pikitup has confirmed in a tweet that its workers have embarked on an illegal strike which will affect refuse collection in all parts of Johannesburg.
In a brief statement‚ the City of Johannesburg and Pickitup said the unlawful action was against the spirit of the ongoing engagement with SAMWU and the concessions made by the City of Johannesburg and Pikitup to accommodate SAMWU’s demands.
“Every effort is being made to speedily address this illegal work stoppage‚” they stated.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of the illegal work stoppage‚ which has disrupted refuse collection services across all the regions of the City of Johannesburg. We appeal to residents and business owners to continue to leave their bins and excess waste outside as contingency plans are in place to collect the refuse‚” they added.
The workers are apparently demanding a minimum salary of R9‚000 to R10‚000 per month.
Tweets were received stating that the striking workers were trashing the streets in Braamfontein.
Pictures received also showed them overturning concrete refuse bins and emptying plastic bags filled with rubbish on to the streets.
Another tweeter complained about rubbish removal in Linden being more than 24 hours overdue.
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