Dismissed security officers who were employed by private companies for the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality are demanding to be insourced by the City. About 100 security officers who are part of the Put Mangaung First Organisation, have marched in Bloemfontein to raise their concerns.
They handed over a memorandum of demands to the municipality as well as the Free State Premier’s office. The disgruntled security officers also claim to be owed by the private companies.
The organisation’s chairperson Johannes Makamole explains:
“We have written a series of memorandums to them, with empty promises from them. Otherwise when our leadership makes a follow-up, they don’t find a follow-up, that is why we keep doing these marches and picketing.”
About 300 former Mangaung Metro security guards say they’re struggling to make ends meet.
They were fired by private companies contracted by the Mangaung municipality.
“It’s been almost 10 years since we’ve been working for the municipality and now we’re suffering because we need to look for jobs. We plead to the municipality, they must at least give us calls in three days,” says one of the security officers.
“This thing of losing our jobs has affected us a lot. Some of us are not staying here in Bloemfontein, we’re renting, so we’re supposed to go back home, because of financial problems. Now we’re asking the municipality to insource us because we have worked at the municipality more than 10 years some of us,” says another security officer.
Extra security at Mangaung putting financial strain on Metro:
