Durban — Service delivery across eThekwini was interrupted by a violent protest by Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers whose employment contracts are being terminated.
It is believed that the EPWP workers were informed that their contracts would be terminated at the end of this month. During an Exco meeting earlier this week, it was initially reported that the programme was set to cease following a costly deficit from the previous financial year.
Members of the Municipal and Allied Trade Union of South Africa (Matusa) held a protest outside the Durban City Hall on Tuesday and again on Wednesday over the termination of the EPWP contracts.
The strike affected areas across Wentworth, Clairwood, Bluff, Umbilo, Pinetown, Collingwood, Chatsworth, Yellowwood Park and Glenwood.
The deputy general secretary of Matusa, Thulani Ngwenya, was quoted as saying the municipality should have kept the EPWP workers as some had been employed for over 15 years and their contracts were terminated without consultation.
Earlier this year, municipal workers embarked on strike action that saw rubbish left uncollected for several days.
In a statement on Wednesday, the eThekwini Municipality advised residents not to take out their refuse until further notice as a result of the disruption to waste collection and street sweeping services.
eThekwini spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the EPWP workers had resorted to blocking gates at different depots and had intimidated staff and refuse collection contractors.
She said, “This has made it impossible for normal collection of refuse to take place. Several areas have been affected by this disruption. Security personnel have been alerted to the situation.”
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson believed the protest action highlighted the urgent reform needed for the EPWP to provide a sustainable pathway to permanent employees.
At the same time, the minister condemned any violence or damage to public property during the protest, particularly as it had halted key municipal service delivery such as the removal of waste which created a health hazard.
He said, “The EPWP was always designed to be a short-term programme to give recipients work experience and training in order for them to find permanent employment. However, due to the stubbornly high unemployment rate in South Africa, many have grown dependent on the programme, having been employed as an EPWP worker for many years.”
Macpherson said during the department’s budget speech it was imperative that the EPWP be re-imagined to become skills outcomes-based which led to South Africans climbing up the opportunity ladder, rather than being stuck in EPWP for years on end.
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