The City of Johannesburg has inked a long-term deal with employee unions in a bid to improve cooperation, stabilise work operations and enhance service delivery.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with both the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (IMATU) and the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) was signed on Monday, 19 August, following months of behind the scenes deliberations.
The MoU guarantees stable labour relations between the City and its union stakeholders, including robust, corporative and stable work processes that’ll allow for the smooth administration of the municipality.
It further prescribes ways of engagement between the City and employee unions and enables the municipality to consult organised labour on all matters of mutual interest with ease, without the controversies of the past.
The Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba described the deal as the first of its kind in local government history. “Under this MoU, each of the parties will hold each other to account in a manner that forms a healthy relationship between government and organised labour. The MoU requires the City and organised labour to be accountable for the actions of those they represent and provide the requisite leadership to prevent breakdowns in labour relations,” said Mashaba.
The Mayor noted that if any of the parties breach the MoU, enforcement procedures would require binding arbitration with powers to award costs or necessitate disciplinary action against any employee of the City.
The Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Corporate and Shared Services, Cllr Ntombi Khumalo applauded the partnership.
Khumalo described the MoU as a strong platform from which the City can build a more stable and better-performing administration, whose workforce is more focused on service delivery.
“This is a positive development for the City and all its employees as it'll help us swiftly address some of the long-pending issues affecting our employees.
“We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the labour representatives for their commitment and dedication to addressing the plight of City employees. We would like to reiterate our commitment to engaging honestly, openly and robustly with labour on the processes the City is initiating to improve service delivery,” Khumalo added.
Both representatives of IMATU and SAMWU confirmed that they had participated in drafting the MoU and would abide by its prescripts. They, however, emphasised that they were not signing away their rights to protest against the City but were open to working with City fathers in addressing issues of mutual interest.
The signing of the MoU, which has been described as ground-breaking, comes after a successfully held labour Lekgotla with stakeholders from the City and both unions.
