EThekwini Municipality workers have taken to the streets, gathering outside Durban City Hall on Friday in frustration over what they say is a prolonged delay in the implementation of Category 10 salaries and a breakdown in communication between workers, their unions and the City.
The workers are demanding answers from City Manager Musa Mbhele over the delayed implementation of the Category 10 salary benchmarking.
According to the workers, they were promised that the new salary structure would be implemented from July 1, together with four months’ back pay.
However, months later, they say the promised payments have still not materialised, with the outstanding back pay now having grown to nine months.
A worker said employees were initially told that they would receive the Category 10 benchmarking salary from July 1, with four months’ back pay.
“We were promised that we would get the Category 10 benchmarking salary from July 1, with four months’ back pay. That never happened. We were then told there would be an extension of four months,” the worker said.
The worker said employees were subsequently informed that the matter would be finalised by August 31, including details relating to employees’ packages.
“But when we patiently waited for August 31, nothing happened. We were not even given feedback on what happened with the finalisation process,” the worker said.
Frustrated by what they describe as a lack of answers, the workers decided to take their concerns directly to the City rather than relying solely on their unions.
The worker said employees had also lost confidence in the communication coming from their union representatives, alleging that information given to employees did not reflect what had been discussed with the employer.
“They discuss with the employer and then come back to the workers, but we feel they are not telling us the truth. They only tell us what they want us to hear. Until today, we do not know the outcome of the August 31 finalisation process,” the worker said.
The workers are now demanding a clear answer from the municipality on when the salary adjustments will be implemented and when they will receive the money they say they are owed.
“When are we getting it? Give us a date. Are we going to get our pay? It is no longer four months of back pay. It is now nine months because of the delays,” the worker said.
The dispute comes just weeks before the local government elections on November 4, after which eThekwini will enter a new political term.
Some workers fear that if the matter is not resolved before the current administration’s term ends, their salary dispute could be carried over into the next term of governance.
The workers say they want the City to provide a clear timeline for the implementation of the Category 10 salaries and payment of the outstanding back pay.
