The eThekwini Municipality has reached an agreement with labour unions to increase workers’ salaries. The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in eThekwini has announced a landmark settlement agreement on benchmarking, following sustained union advocacy to address pay parity, among other issues. The agreement means that workers will now be paid the same as their counterparts in other metros across the country.
The agreement will cost the municipality an additional R500 million a year. To counter that expense, the City is proposing toreduce overtimeand introduce a shift system. The union and the municipality had been locked in a prolonged dispute over pay disparities in eThekwini compared to other municipalities.
Workers had previously complained that they were being paid significantly less than their counterparts in other metros. The agreement also averted what could have been crippling industrial action during the City’s busiest period of the year, as the union had threatened to declare a dispute and down tools. A strike would have disrupted water, electricity, refuse removal, and sewage services.
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“SAMWU has long highlighted severe wage disparities between eThekwini and other major metros. For example, the lowest-paid worker in eThekwini earns about R11,500 monthly, compared to over R15,000 elsewhere,” the statement said. A report on the settlement agreement between SAMWU and the municipality stated that cost-cutting measures are necessary to ensure the budget exists to fund the additional costs.
It said the parties agreed that the employer’s overtime spend is to be reduced by 50%, meaning a reduction from R700 million to R350 million per annum. “The employer further contended that the shortfall, after cutting down on overtime, had to be made up by the parties agreeing to implement a shift system. They sought to have agreement on the broad principles upon which a proposed shift system should be based. The parties agreed on the need for a shift system, which is required and feasible given the legal framework and requirements of the employer to discharge its constitutional and legislative responsibilities,” the report added.
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