A GREATER Letaba municipal manager, who was accused of failing to reinstate a fired official last month, has been sent on 14 days special leave.

The decision to put Isaiah Mutshinyali on special leave follows lengthy negotiations between the council and the South African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu).

This after Mutshinyali had failed to reinstate fired human resources clerk Joseph Leseilane after the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) had ruled in his favour.

The workers disrupted services over the past two weeks, demanding that Leseilane be reinstated with immediate effect after the ruling.

The workers also demanded that Mutshinyali's contract be renewed when it expired at the end of the month.

Leseilane was dismissed on January 8 last year by Mutshinyali on allegations of misconduct.

Samwu area spokesperson Refilwe Makhananisa said according to the CCMA ruling Leseilane was supposed to be reinstated on July 20, but Mutshinyali decided to defy the ruling.

He even went further and appealed against the decision to the CCMA.

This resulted in more than 100 workers embarking on a protest strike from July 23 until last week.

The workers demanded that Leseilane be reinstated with immediate effect.

"Though Leseilane has not yet been reinstated we are confident that there is light at the end of the tunnel," Makhananisa said.

"We will wait for the outcome of the arbitration after an appeal lodged by the municipal manager before we take the matter further."

Mutshinyali has been sent on 14 days special leave while the council deals with the matter internally.

In the meantime the workers resumed duties last week after Mutshinyali was placed on special leave.

Makhananisa explained that Leseilane had not been reinstated because the council had yet to hear the outcome of Mutshinyali's appeal.