DailyDispatch reports that the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) faces the threat of another crippling strike after the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) accused the municipality of acting in bad faith by failing to implement a key labour agreement.

The agreement, aimed at resolving a long-running expanded public works programme (EPWP) jobs dispute, was reached three months ago. However, last week the union accused the municipality of negotiating in bad faith, saying it could not rule out the possibility of another strike. Samwu alleges that BCM has delayed the establishment of a committee tasked with investigating claims that some EPWP workers were unfairly excluded from permanent employment in 2019.

The committee was a key resolution of an agreement reached in September between the metro and unions after a previous strike. It was agreed that the committee – made up of representatives of BCM management, Samwu and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) – would be established within 20 days. The committee had been expected to hold its first meeting by the first week of December and submit a report to council at its first sitting in January. But, Samwu’s Yoliwe Govuza said that the agreed timelines were unlikely to be met because of what she described as BCM’s dishonesty. However, Imatu’s Siyanda Yamba said the union understood that the local collective agreement was being implemented, though some resolutions were still in progress.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mandilakhe Kwababana at DailyDispatch (subscriber access only)

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