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GroundUp reports that hundreds of workers affiliated with the Maanda-Ashu Workers Union of SA (Mawusa) marched to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPW&I) in Pretoria on Monday, demanding permanent employment and better pay.
The workers are temporarily employed through the government’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and the Community Work Programme (CWP), doing work such as road maintenance and street sweeping. Members of political movement Afrika Mayibuye also participated in the march. The march proceeded peacefully. CWP worker Ewart Sithebe from Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, complained that he was a supervisor but earned just over R1,900 a month.
A memorandum containing six demands was handed to the department by Mawusa president Robert Mwendo. The demands included the following: full-time employment for all CWP and EPWP workers; payment of gratuities for CWP workers whose contracts were terminated after more than ten to 15 years of service without benefits; payment of all outstanding wages due to system errors; immediate delivery of personal protective equipment and tools of trade, not supplied for three to four years; and equal minimum wages with other sectors. The memo was accepted by the DPW&I’s Adam Mthonbeni, who told workers the department would give them feedback in due course.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Warren Mabona at GroundUp
- Read too, Workers demand better wages and conditions in Pretoria march, at IOL News
Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page