Residents of Alexandra complained yesterday that the R1-million reportedly spent by Pikitup daily on private companies to clean up Johannesburg does not work for them.
Resident Steven Matoma said they had not seen a truck in their area to collect rubbish for about two weeks.
"We hear that Pikitup was spending R1-million a day for collection of rubbish, but that R1-million does not work for us.
"We have cleaned the streets but we have nowhere to take the rubbish to," Matoma said.
Private companies were hired after Pikitup staff affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) embarked on an illegal strike four weeks ago.
Samwu members went on strike on March 6 after they demanded the city's waste collection agency should address salary disparities and were also calling for the dismissal of the managing director, Amanda Nair.
They accused her of favouritism, nepotism and snubbing black people from occupying senior positions in the company.
Standing next to heaps of rubbish, with flies buzzing around and an unbearable stench, a group of residents said the garbage had not been collected from their area for weeks.
Another resident, Gift Maswanganyi, said they had volunteered to clean the streets, but it was a futile exercise because the trucks could not come to collect the refuse bags.
Meanwhile, a rift between Samwu and Pikitup widened yesterday as the company confirmed it had started disciplinary hearings of about 4000 workers implicated in the strike, while the trade union dismissed the claim.
Pikitup spokesman Jackey Mashapu said: "It [the disciplinary process] has started. We are not reneging."
He would not comment further, saying the matter should be treated as sub judice.
However, Samwu's spokesman Thabang Thlabang said the hearings were postponed to today. He said they had initially been told the process would take place at the offices of environment and infrastructure MMC Matshidiso Mfikoe in Johannesburg, but was later changed to Rand Stadium.
He said Pikitup had now demonstrated that it has the money to address salary disparities after announcing that it was spendingR1-million a day to pay private companies for the cleaning.
Mashapu confirmed yesterday that the company was spending R1-million a day.
xabav@sowetan.co.za
Pikitup strike costing city residents dearly
Residents of Alexandra complained yesterday that the R1-million reportedly spent by Pikitup daily on private companies to clean up Johannesburg does not work for them.
Resident Steven Matoma said they had not seen a truck in their area to collect rubbish for about two weeks.
"We hear that Pikitup was spending R1-million a day for collection of rubbish, but that R1-million does not work for us.
"We have cleaned the streets but we have nowhere to take the rubbish to," Matoma said.
Private companies were hired after Pikitup staff affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) embarked on an illegal strike four weeks ago.
Samwu members went on strike on March 6 after they demanded the city's waste collection agency should address salary disparities and were also calling for the dismissal of the managing director, Amanda Nair.
They accused her of favouritism, nepotism and snubbing black people from occupying senior positions in the company.
Standing next to heaps of rubbish, with flies buzzing around and an unbearable stench, a group of residents said the garbage had not been collected from their area for weeks.
Another resident, Gift Maswanganyi, said they had volunteered to clean the streets, but it was a futile exercise because the trucks could not come to collect the refuse bags.
Meanwhile, a rift between Samwu and Pikitup widened yesterday as the company confirmed it had started disciplinary hearings of about 4000 workers implicated in the strike, while the trade union dismissed the claim.
Pikitup spokesman Jackey Mashapu said: "It [the disciplinary process] has started. We are not reneging."
He would not comment further, saying the matter should be treated as sub judice.
However, Samwu's spokesman Thabang Thlabang said the hearings were postponed to today. He said they had initially been told the process would take place at the offices of environment and infrastructure MMC Matshidiso Mfikoe in Johannesburg, but was later changed to Rand Stadium.
He said Pikitup had now demonstrated that it has the money to address salary disparities after announcing that it was spendingR1-million a day to pay private companies for the cleaning.
Mashapu confirmed yesterday that the company was spending R1-million a day.
xabav@sowetan.co.za
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