The Citizen reports that operations came to a complete halt at Pikitup’s Selby depot and the Panorama Garden site in Johannesburg on Monday.  This was after former Jozi@Work employees disrupted the waste management’s services demanding their jobs back.  

Pikitup spokesperson, Muzi Mkhwanazi, confirmed that a group of disgruntled former Jozi@Work employees picketed outside the gates of the Selby Depot and prevented Pikitup employees from perform their duties.  Hundreds of members of the Jozi@Work programme, initiated by the former ANC-led administration in the City of Johannesburg before the metro was taken over by the Democratic Alliance in 2016, were retrenched by the new administration.  At the time, mayor Herman Mashaba said the programme was used as a jobs-for-pals scheme and a corrupt effort to benefit some the ANC councillors.  For some time now, the employees have been protesting in various parts of the city demanding to be reinstated into their jobs.  At one time last year they gate-crashed a council meeting, trashing the council chamber and breaking glass doors and television sets in the council lounges.  Mkhwanazi said Pikitup had contacted the Johannesburg Metro Police Department to intervene in the matter because disrupting the waste management services was an offence.

• Read this report by Eric Naki in full at The Citizen
• Read too, Pikitup threatens to call the cops over continued threats, at Timeslive

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page