The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu)’s General Secretary Simon Mathe says they have mandated their legal team to lay criminal charges against municipalities which fail to pay workers’ third party contributions.
Some municipalities in Free State, North West and Limpopo have failed to pay contributions such as medical aid and pension funds due to cash-flow problems.
Workers at the cash-strapped Mookgopong-Modimolle local municipality in Limpopo were paid their January salary more than five days after their actual pay day.
Mathe says they will take legal action to ensure that workers get their benefits.
“The NEC is gravely concerned by the state in which municipalities find themselves in. Most municipalities have made it fashionable to pay workers’ salaries late while some municipalities have not been paying third parties such as union subscriptions, pension funds, medical aids and funeral policies. The NEC has therefore mandated the union’s legal department to lay criminal and fraud charges against municipalities which have failed to pay third parties,” says Mathe.
