The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Shonamalanga Region expresses its profound dismay and unequivocally condemns the uMhlathuze Municipality for its persistent and deliberate failure to meet its most basic legal obligation: paying workers for overtime.Once again, the Municipality has defaulted on this duty. Employees did not receive their legally entitled overtime payments on 25 May 2025. After serious engagements, the employer committed to making payment by 30 May 2025, a commitment it has again dishonoured. Shockingly, affected employees were arrogantly informed that payment would now be deferred to 25 June 2025.
This conduct constitutes a gross breach of fiduciary duty and a serious violation of labour law, specifically the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and applicable Collective Agreements. It is not merely an administrative oversight but borders on wilful non-compliance. As a result, our members face severe financial and emotional hardship. The Municipality’s repeated failures erode trust and demonstrate a callous disregard for its workforce’s well-being and dignity. These are not isolated incidents but part of a pattern of institutional neglect and legal non-compliance.
SAMWU has formally demanded accountability and clarity on whether consequence management will be instituted against those responsible. To date, no official has faced disciplinary action, despite clear evidence of dereliction of duty. This ongoing inaction reinforces a culture of impunity and systemic disregard for workers’ rights within the Municipality.
Moreover, this crisis raises serious concerns about the credibility of audit outcomes and financial management at uMhlathuze Municipality. How can the institution receive clean or unqualified audits while failing to meet statutory payroll obligations? We call on oversight bodies including the Auditor-General and Provincial Treasury to investigate these discrepancies and determine whether the Municipality’s financial reporting reflects reality.
In addition to the failure to pay statutory payroll deductions, workers in the Municipality face several hardships which includes:
1. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): The employer has failed to provide complete and adequate PPE in line with Council-approved policy. Notably, Traffic Officers have not received new uniforms since 2019, violating occupational safety standards.
2. Tools of Trade: The accumulation of broken vehicles at the municipal workshop and the coercion of employees to use unroadworthy vehicles endanger staff and public safety, breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
3. Overtime and Threshold Implementation: The non-payment of overtime defies both labour law and the 2024 arbitration award mandating the implementation of the threshold agreement. This constitutes contempt of legally binding processes.
4. Unfair Labour Practices: Multiple unfair dismissals have occurred, many of which SAMWU has successfully overturned, revealing a systematic abuse of power and targeting of union members.
5. Safety and Security: Despite a shooting incident inside municipal premises last year, the employer has taken no substantive steps to secure the workplace, demonstrating reckless neglect.
6. Employment Equity and Disability Representation: The administration has disregarded Employment Equity obligations, with persons with disabilities remaining severely underrepresented.
7. Unsafe Working Conditions: Widespread violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act persist, with employees exposed to unaddressed hazards.
SAMWU once again condemns the victimisation of workers and the erosion of collective bargaining. The uMhlathuze Municipality’s failure to uphold its legal and moral obligations will no longer be tolerated. We demand immediate intervention from oversight bodies and a forensic audit into the Municipality’s financial management and labour law compliance.
Should the employer continue to ignore these issues, SAMWU will have no choice but to embark on industrial action to defend our members’ rights, dignity, and safety.
Issued by SAMWU Shonamalanga Region
Zandile Gumede
Regional Secretary
081 284 2591
Or
Zethu Fakude
Deputy Regional Secretary
0722528910