The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) has learnt of the integration plans by Department of Environmental Affairs with regards to the collection of waste in the country’s municipalities.

During her Department’s budget vote, Minister Edna Molewa said that the country has over 60 000 waste pickers who collect recyclable material at municipal land fill sites. The Minister further said that her department has plans in place for the integration of waste pickers into municipalities a process that will include the creation of a Waste Management Bureau whose funding remains unclear.

We are not opposed to the creation of decent jobs with decent wages for South Africans but are sceptical about these plans as municipalities already face challenges particularly with regards to the creation of decent jobs.  Municipalities continually use Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) for the rendering of municipal services such as waste collection while these workers receive as little as R50 for a day’s work.

SAMWU remains opposed to the use of EPWP for the rendering of municipal services; we consider this practice to be exploitation of a special kind. Our argument is that municipal services should be rendered by those who are directly employed by municipalities so to enable them to get benefits and that the minimum wage of R6040 should be applicable to EPWP workers. The R50 per day that they are currently receiving is a spit in the face of the poor.

We will therefore be seeking clarity from the Department of Environmental Affairs on this integration plans and should such plans want to create another layer of EPWP, they shall be rejected outright. The only integration that we are in a position to currently entertain is that of integrating EPWP workers to be absorbed by municipalities as permanent employees with all benefits in the sector extended to them.

 

Issued by SAMWU