4 May 2026
SAMWU regional secretary Thando Poni addressed the workers. Photos: Johnnie Isaac
Hundreds of members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in Buffalo City Metro marched to the city hall on Monday to hand over a memorandum of grievances.
SAMWU members gathered at the North End Stadium in KuGompo and marched through the streets. Tyres were burned along the route but SAMWU said this was not the work of members.
SAMWU leaders said in September last year they had struck an agreement with Buffalo City management but the City had not stuck to the deal.
Since April last year, SAMWU has held a series of protests and a full-blown strike, demanding an end to outsourcing and the casualisation of workers, the absorption of Expanded Public Works Programme employees, and danger allowances for workers involved in meter reading and sanitation (due to exposure to diseases).
The strike was called off in September last year after an agreement was reached.
Workers demanded an end to casualisation.
But according to SAMWU regional secretary Thando Poni the only promise kept by the municipality was the payment of a R6,000 Covid allowance to each employee.
Reading out the memorandum, Poni said: “This is not a new memorandum of grievances; we are not starting anything new.”
He said SAMWU members were calling for consequence management for senior managers who fail to implement what was agreed.
He reiterated the union’s call for an end to outsourcing. He said work was being taken from municipal employees and given to contractors and consultants, leaving employees “with nothing to do other than drink coffee, eat lunch and go home”.
He added that workers were not against the use of contractors in scarce skills areas but insisted there must be skills transfer.
The memorandum was received by the Buffalo City Chief Whip, Sangweni Matwele, who acknowledged that the deal had not been implemented and said he would discuss this with the mayor.
SAMWU’s Buffalo City chairperson, Yaliwe Govuza, distanced the union from tyre burnings and the burning of rubbish in the streets.
The memorandum was received by Chief Whip Sangweni Matwele.
