Pikitup casual workers are striking over demands to be made permanent workers. They say they have been working for the entity, cleaning the streets of Johannesburg, for as little as R120 a day.
A strike by hundreds of casual workers has left the waste collection service unable to remove rubbish in the city. The strike began last week amid allegations from workers, of unfair human resource practices within Pikitup.
Protesters have since blocked depot entrances, preventing trucks from dumping waste. One of the workers on strike Liso Mtshiyo says workers are demanding to be permanently employed.
“We are crying because now Pikitup has decided to advertise the jobs publicly. What about us as contractors? Most of us, work for more than three months and after that they advertise the jobs. So now, why should we work for labour brokers for such a long time? From October, we’ve been working for R120 to R150 a day. We want serious jobs. We want a better future. And of course, we want to see Johannesburg clean. We hear that the counsellors and the shop stewards are employing their cousins. We just want permanent jobs.”
