Members affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers’ Union at the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) today embarked on a demonstration demanding the immediate and full and immediate implementation of the recently concluded salary and wage agreement with SALGA.

We are pleased that our members are ultimately going to get their increase after management made a commitment that workers will receive their money by Friday the 9th October. We will be monitoring the situation to ensure that management is held accountable and does deliver on their commitment otherwise we will be back at JRA offices come Friday.

It can’t be that workers have to first fight before the implementation of such agreements. The fact that management made a commitment to pay workers by this Friday is an indication that the money has always been there accumulation interests for the employer. Moving forward we will be demanding that all back-pays should be accompanied with interests. We believe that this will stop municipalities from deliberately withholding workers’ hard-earned money.

We strongly urge all municipalities who have not yet honoured the agreement to immediately so otherwise workers will physically come collect their money, with interests. It seems as though this is the only way that our members will receive the increases, by physically going to collect it, as such municipalities should prepare their cheque books because we are coming!

Issued by SAMWU Head Office