Pretoria - The City of Tshwane has been accused of subjecting the revenue agents it hired in 2015 to unequal pay, in addition to isolating them from its permanent employees.
This was expressed by a group of workers representing almost 1 000 administration officers in credit control management and revenue value chain functions. They were picketing at Tshwane House yesterday.
The protest was strategically planned to coincide with the monthly ordinary sitting of the council, which was expected to debate the appointment of a city manager.
The frustrated workers said they had been engaging acting city manager Mmaseabata Mutlaneng for years without making any progress.
Among them was Tsholofelo Maodi, who said they were aggrieved because the City had absorbed them in 2018, but they had yet to receive appointment letters.
As a result, Moadi said, they were being treated like general workers who could be moved around to other positions at any time.
Moadi also said these workers now did different jobs, but they were treated as a collective and paid the same salary of about R20 000 a month. This was about R6 000 shy of what had been put on paper.
“The City has been treating us like we are just an extra group. We were hired at the same time as the rapid response workers and others in facilities such as swimming pools. Those workers have since been absorbed on a higher salary.
“We have been fighting to be treated equally and fairly for seven years now, and we still have nothing to show for it.
“The acting city manager sat down with us and we went through these matters, but to this day we continue to be treated unfairly.
“We are just moved from post to post or office to office. We earn less than what we should he earning. This affects our livelihood and dignity.
“After deductions for benefits, we end up with a little salary and end up having to borrow money from people just to make it. We just want the City to do right by us.”
Kido Jiane said it was wrong that these revenue agents were now scattered across the city, some in administration and others in consultation, but receiving the same salary.
He said this was because the City had not placed them formally in its staff structure.
Finance MMC Peter Sutton said the matter was before a labour forum. “They were hired in 2017 and their salaries were correctly adjusted back then in terms of the pay scale as agreed with the labour forum.”
He promised to give more clarity on the matter at a later stage.
Pretoria News