Jozini - Three years after they were sacked for allegedly engaging in an illegal municipal strike, the 119 workers fired by the Ugu district municipality on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast will eventually get their jobs back.
On top of that, they would get compensation for 12 months and resume their duties on 1 November this year.
According to a statement released by the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu), the settlement agreement was made an order of the Labour Court in Durban on Wednesday.
Parties have also agreed that further engagements should be held between labour and the municipality on the payment of employer contributions towards their pension funds for an agreed period of 24 months.
NEWS: SAMWU in KZN has hailed the decision by Ugu district municipality on the south coast to reinstate 119 workers who were fired for engaging in an illegal strike in 2019. The workers will receive 12 months compensation and then resume their duties on Novemver 1, 2022. @IOL
The labour union, affiliated with Cosatu and aligned with the ANC, added that it understands the pain and suffering that the workers have endured as a result of their dismissals; the impact was further compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which gravely affected unemployed South Africans. “As per the settlement agreement, which was made an order of the Labour Court in Durban on the 19th October 2022, all the 119 employees will be reinstated, effective from the 1st November 2022.
“Furthermore, all these employees will be receiving 12 months’ salary as compensation for lost income as a result of the termination of their employment.
“Parties have also agreed that further engagements should be held between labour and the municipality on the payment of employer contributions towards their pension funds for an agreed period of 24 months,” the union said.
The reinstatement comes a few weeks after 223 workers who were fired by the Newcastle local municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal (while it was still under the ANC) in 2019 also got their jobs back.
However, the Newcastle municipality, which is now under the IFP, has been clouded in controversy after it emerged that the municipality does not have the money to back pay the workers and to do so, they have to they have reworked their 2022/2023 budget.
On the issue of Ugu, Samwu in KwaZulu-Natal said municipalities should always act to ensure sound industrial relations in all municipalities.
The union said it was of the view that working together as equal stakeholders, both municipal management and labour, will ensure that services rendered to residents in the province are not compromised.
“We hope that many municipalities across the province can take away the experiences and maturity in which these engagements were held. “It is our wish that this should be emulated by other municipalities. The protection of workers and delivery of service delivery remains the responsibility of both employers and employees.
“We trust that the management of Ugu District Municipality will ensure that there are sound relations and an open-door policy to allow workers to engage earnestly and in good faith on issues affecting workers without the need to embark on strike actions.”