TMG Digital reports that as Cosatu marches in support of workers on Friday‚ the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) is demanding that contract workers be employed by cities across the country.  

“Casualisation and privatising municipal services has resulted in exploitation of workers through the use of tenders and the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) ‚” Samwu said this week, adding that it was of the view that “EPWP workers are rendering municipal services and as such they should be employed directly and permanently by municipalities with all the benefits that municipal workers are currently enjoying.”  Yet, the SA Local Government Association (Salga) said it “does not have an adopted policy position on the EPWP workers being permanently employed in municipalities”.  It is said that placing thousands of EPWP workers on the local government payroll would have serious implications for towns and cities.

• Read this report by Penwell Dlamini in full at TimesLive

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