Ethekwini lifeguard alleged strike 28-02-08

 

SAMWU sets record straight on Ethekwini lifeguards' alleged "strike"

SAMWU notes that the media has placed the blame for the tragic and unfortunate drownings at Ethekwini beaches on the union's shoulders, without trying to find out why lifeguards are no longer working on weekends.

In fact, there is nothing in the lifeguards' conditions of service stating that they must work for free on weekends. SAMWU pointed this out to the municipality in 1991. The municipality then reached a one-year agreement with us to give not only the lifeguards in Ethekwini municipality but also the pools, beach maintenance and law enforcement workers a shift allowance.

This agreement expired in 1992. SAMWU tried hundreds of times to have the agreement extended but the municipality did not do this. However, they continued to grant the shift allowance. The lifeguards and other workers continued to work on weekends although they had no written guarantee that they would be paid.

Last year, the municipality then reached an agreement with a few unionists at a mountain resort which they had no authority to do. This agreement drastically downgraded many workers conditions of service, including firefighters who the City wanted not to fully pay if they were burnt fighting fires. SAMWU had the agreement overturned in the Labour Court but the Municipality applied for leave to appeal and is still implementing this agreement, even though they know they are likely to lose the case.

Three months ago, this agreement slashed the allowance paid to lifeguards on weekends down to 0.5% of their salaries, "which is peanuts", according to SAMWU EThekwini Branch Secretary Jay Moodley.

It is because their allowances were slashed that the lifeguards are not willing to work on weekends.

SAMWU also wants to point out that separate to the problems created by this agreement, the union has been trying to agree on a standard shift allowance for lifeguards, pools, beach maintenance and law enforcement workers since 2003.

There is no consistency regarding shift work and allowances for employees within this category. Employees in the North, South, and Inner-West of the municipality work a five day week, Monday to Friday, and are paid overtime if they are required to work on weekends. This does not apply to employees from Central EThekwini.

The Local Labour Forum of the municipality failed to come up with a standard agreement since 2003. In 2006, the Local Labour Forum decided that the system used in North EThekwini should be applied throughout the municipality. This system requires employees to work a five day week, Monday to Friday, with a rotation system for weekends, where employees will be paid overtime for work performed.

One individual, Christo Swart (Deputy Head of Parks, Culture and Recreation) was hellbent on preventing any agreement and rejected this recommendation. He insisted on submitting his own proposal which nobody else supports.

SAMWU then met with the Acting Deputy City Manager, Mr Madondo, and it was agreed that employees will receive an allowance for December 2007 and January 2008 and that a permanent agreement should be reached for work taking place after January 2008.

Many urgent meetings took place during this time and still Christo Swart refused to support the proposal which had majority support. As SAMWU, we then took the matter to our members. We even put Christo Swart's one-man proposal to the members, although we were not obliged to do this since this proposal had no support even from the municipality. SAMWU's members told us they would not accept Swart's proposal and that they would stop performing their duties on weekends until the matter was resolved.

SAMWU advised management of this a few months ago. Management failed to respond in any way. About two weeks ago, SAMWU members stopped working on weekends and started working strictly to our Conditions of Service, which say that work takes place from Monday to Friday.

SAMWU rejects the propaganda put out by City Manager Mike Sutcliffe and the municipality. They had 16 years to solve this problem but they failed to do so. We have been pressuring them intensely for the past five years to sign a proper agreement on weekend work and they have not bothered to get their act together. Workers cannot be expected to wait longer than five years for resolution on such issues.

SAMWU also wants to inform the public that the CCMA has offered to mediate this dispute. The union has welcomed this but the municipality rejected them. This shows that management is not serious about providing proper services to the public.

Since the terrible and unfortunate drownings at the beaches, SAMWU has requested an urgent meeting with Sutcliffe and he did not even bother to reply to us. After we issued him with an ultimatum that we would be withdrawing from all meetings with management at all levels, Sutcliffe called the SAMWU Branch Secretary and told him that it would be "useless to meet to discuss this issue".

Christo Swart's role in the events leading to the drownings needs to be investigated. There is no reason why workers from across the city should not have one standard allowance as agreed by everyone in the Local Labour Forum.

..../ends

For comment please call Jay Moodley, SAMWU Branch Secretary on 0844558080 or 031 3075026