The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on Friday welcomed the announcement that the City of Johannesburg will insource 1 400 workers who were formerly employed under the municipality's Jozi@Work programme.

EFF Joburg Regional Chairperson Musa Novela said this milestone achievement was as a result of the EFF’s consistency with its 2016 Municipal Manifesto to eradicate job casualisation and exploitation after it tabled a motion to in source all contract workers in the City of Johannesburg which was adopted by the Council.

“EFF Joburg salutes its deployees in Council for courageously fighting the [African National Congress/Democratic Alliance's] ANC/DA’s anti-black neo-liberal policies. This outcome is as a result of tireless dedication by our deployees in Council and should be understood within the context of reversing the Egoli 2000 neo-liberal framework introduced by the captured ANC and celebrated by the racist DA,” Novela said.

Novela said the practical implementation of EFF’s manifesto furthermore serves as testimony that Johannesburg’s challenges required a pragmatic approach that can not be located in the ANC or DA policies.

“The EFF will continue being in the forefront to represent the needs of the poor, and continue to apply pressure in Council to fast track service delivery which is in the favour of the poor and marginalised residents of Johannesburg,” Novela said.

“EFF will soldier on and fight tooth and nail to have a motion adopted in Council which proposes that [Johannesburg Metro Police Department] JMPD officers should be given a R1 000 danger allowance which was previously rejected by the corrupt ANC and the racist DA.”

On Thursday, Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba announced that the City will insource 1 400 workers who were formerly employed under the municipality's Jozi@Work programme.

"Contract workers to be insourced form part of a group who lodged a long standing employment dispute with Pikitup," Mshaba said at the time.

"While we are only able to accommodate 1 400 of the total 3 000 former employees, consisting of both Jozi@Work and 2010 contract workers, due to budget constraints from Pikitup, it must be noted that the issue is not with the number of people employed. Rather, our main priority is ensuring that fair remuneration and dignity is provided to these contract workers."

This followed a successful meeting the City held on Wednesday, with the South African Municipal Workers Unions (Samwu), Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu), as well as the City's waste-management entity, Pikitup, which decided that some former Jozi@Work employees would be employed directly by the City.

Mshaba said that these workers would be employed on a permanent basis and would see their earnings increase from R2 200 to R6 000 per month.

Jozi@Work employees have often in the past disrupted Pikitup operations by trashing the rubbish bins in the City centre and intimidating Pikitup employees, while demanding that the City reinstates their programme.