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ActionSA on Tuesday concluded a successful meeting with the South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU) to help end the ongoing strike action in the City of Tshwane which negatively affects service delivery to all residents in the capital city. 

As a committed partner of the multi-party government, ActionSA agrees that the city’s finances should be stabilised following years of instability and we continue to stand against any form of vandalism of public property. 

However, this must be balanced by the legitimate request of municipal unions who qualify for salary increases - as recently confirmed by the South African Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC) – and the consequent need for stability of service delivery in Tshwane. 

We have already raised our concerns at the multi-party coalition management committee where ActionSA engaged Cilliers Brink urging a departure from the dismissal of municipal workers’ concerns and rather to engage proactively with unions in the best interest of the residents of the city. This meeting did not find agreement and therefore the matter has been referred to the national coalition oversight group.

While there have been some efforts to mischaracterise ActionSA’s position on this matter, it is necessary to point out that the signed multi-party coalition agreement commits all coalition partners, including Brink and the DA, to building stable and effective relationships with the unions that improve service delivery to residents.

ActionSA does not believe there are any winners in the current strike action as relations between the unions and the city deteriorate, and ultimately, the residents of Tshwane are the biggest losers due to no refuse removal and other basic services.  

It is not good enough for Brink and the DA to force residents to live without refuse removal or other basic services in order to avoid the rational need to sit down and engage the unions in order to achieve the compromise that gets service delivery back again. It is also not acceptable for the City to ignore the soaring cost of living increases that municipal workers, like all other South Africans, experience. 

As with all complex challenges in local government, consensus must be built through engagement and compromise to the benefit of all residents – something that cannot happen as long as there is a refusal to even engage.

ActionSA will continue to work with all role-players to help end the ongoing strike to ensure that good quality service delivery is restored to all residents.  

Issued by ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Leader Funzi Ngobeni