The hopes of more than 500 former contract workers of being permanently employed at the City of Tshwane have been dashed after the SA Local Government Bargaining Council reversed its 2020 ruling that they must be reinstated.
The Pretoria News previously reported that workers were employed at the metro in 2019 on 12-months contracts, which were terminated in October 2020. The City then concluded that their posts were redundant.
On several occasions they marched to Tshwane House demanding to be reinstated into their former positions.
They subsequently approached the Bargaining Council, where they argued that they were unfairly dismissed by the City.
On February 28 2022, the Bargaining Council ruled in their favour ordering the City to employ them permanently.
At the time Council commissioner, Joseph Mphaphuli, also ordered the metro must pay each worker an arrears salary of at least R115 000. The salaries were to be for the duration of employment they would have earned had it not been for “unfair dismissal”.
Unhappy with the verdict, the City initiated a process to review the ruling to reinstate them on a permanent basis at the Bargaining Council.
Municipal spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo, said the City was of the belief that the reassessment of the matter would yield a favourable outcome.
“On December 13, 2023, the presiding commissioner in the hearing, in summation, made an award to the effect that the applicants did not prove that they were to be deemed as permanent employees and the dispute was subsequently dismissed. With the matter having been fully ventilated and heard through the arbitration process, the city welcomes this significant outcome,” Mashigo said.
He said the city had employed 513 workers, through a labour broker, to assist with waste management on a fixed 12-month contract from November 2019 until October 31, 2020.
“Upon expiry of their contract, the workers demanded to be permanently absorbed as city employees,”he said.
In March last year former general workers pitched for work after the Bargaining Council ruling went in their favour.
They were, however, blocked from entering municipal premises.
The City had initially indicated that it would approach the Labour Court to challenge the ruling.
However, it opted to exhaust the process of reviewing the ruling at the same Bargaining Council, which made an about-turn on its previous verdict.
Pretoria News
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za