JO'BURG LABOUR COURT VERDICT: CITY CONTINUES TO NEGOTIATE
The City of Johannesburg takes note of the judgment by the Labour Court on the Pikitup strike. The City regards the verdict as a reasonable outcome considering the circumstances of the current dispute.
The City continues to seek a negotiated solution to the industrial action and is currently engaging with Samwu at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to discuss possible options.
The primary concern for the City is to resume normal refuse removal services to residents and businesses in Johannesburg at the earliest opportunity and to remove the backlog that has built up over the past two weeks.
The city shares the growing anger among residents about the continuing non-delivery of refuse removal services. We are convinced that the outstanding issues can be resolved through negotiations in good faith.
A number of communities have already embarked on initiatives to organise refuse removal in their own neighbourhoods. The City commends such activities and call on more communities to follow these examples.
The City also calls on their partners in the Inner City Coalition and the participants in the various City Improvement Districts to contribute to these efforts in the CBD.
Operating hours at the City's landfill sites have been extended to facilitate the collection of refuse deposited by resident and businesses.
These landfill sites are situated at:
* Goudkoppies - Houthammer Road, Devland
* Marie Louise - Dobsonville Road, Roodepoort
* Robinson Deep - Turffontein Road, Turffontein
* Ennerdale - Old Lawley Road, Lawley
The City is also concerned about the growing incidents of intimidation, violence, vandalism and the trashing of streets that are taking place. We call on Samwu to condemn such actions and to instruct its members to refrain from activities that are against the best interests of City residents.
Residents who have been subjected to violence or intimidation are requested to report such incidents to the SAPS at 10111.
We, again, apologise to residents for the inconvenience caused by the current strike. We want to assure you that the City is taking every possible step to find a resolution and to ensure that service delivery returns to normal very soon.
Pikitup would like to advise all residents to act with caution if confronted by any of these individuals. For more information on the exact location of all garden sites, residents can visit the Pikitup website www.pikitup.co.za
Statement issued by Gabu Tugwana, Communication Director, City of Joburg, April 18 2011
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