Pretoria - Former waste management workers who have been camping outside Tshwane House for more than a week refused to sign exit packages when their contracts ended last year.
City of Tshwane chief of staff Jordan Griffiths said the metro sought the services of at least 600 workers from X Capacity Waste.
He said the metro opted not to extend their one-year employment contract, which led to protests, an arbitration case and Labour Court matter.
He said the City was, however, confident it would win the cases because the workers were given a clear and fixed temporary contract of employment. The municipality had never absorbed them, and it was clear it would not rehire them.
He questioned the validity of a letter one of the workers had, which stated he was permanently employed.
He said the letter could not be valid and it also appeared to be stamped on October 27, which was the date their contract terminated.
Griffiths said: “What you need to understand is that in the past few weeks they have been saying their termination was not done correctly; that they cannot access UIF and other benefits.
“So we as the City reprinted all the relevant forms and made them all available for them to come and sign any documents they said they had not received. They did not come and sign.”
However, Cedric Cele, on behalf of the workers, said the DA-led City administration terminated their employment unlawfully and without taking into consideration that they were permanently employed.
“As a result they could not prove they have fired these employees, and that is why these employees have been here for two weeks, sleeping here and demanding accountability from the DA-led administration.
“They have been coming up with delaying tactics to push this thing until after the local government elections, and they can run away and chase people (from here) because they now realise this thing is a mess.
“There was a promise made on April 28 this thing would be resolved politically, and that is why employees come to Tshwane House and sleep here. They have become hobos. They demand accountability from all the parties in council. They want nothing else but their jobs back.”
Pretoria News