ANA reports that the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) on Thursday distanced itself from Jozi@Work workers who left a trail of destruction in their wake in central Johannesburg late on Wednesday.  

They were protesting against the canning of the programme and disrupted night shift Pikitup workers.  The union said:  “We condemn the intimidation directed at our members and workers in general by the participants.  Our position on Jozi@Work and programmes similar to this such as the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) and the Community Works Programme (CWP) has long been made clear."  It went on to indicate its general opposition to such programmes and said it would “oppose the delivery of municipal services through the tendering system, institutionalisation and privatisation." JHB mayor Herman Mashaba shut down the Jozi@Work programme after he took over the city last year, saying it enriched a few members of the ANC patronage network.

• Read this report in full at IOL News
• Read Samwu’s press statement in this regard at Samwu online

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