SAMWU welcomes resignation of Mashaba 

21 October 2019

The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) notes and welcomes the resignation of City of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba. His resignation brings an end to his reign of terror in which workers and unions have been victims.

Since Mashaba came into office following the 2016 Local Government elections, he had made it his priority to undermine collective bargaining, coupled with his administration’s decision to interfere in the affairs of the union. Under Mashaba, there have been no sound labour relations, with the City failing to convene Local Labour Forums.

The City has under the leadership of Mashaba used millions of Rands in litigation costs taking the union to court and lost every case right up to the Constitutional Court. Despite the ruling of the Constitutional Court, the City remains in contempt of court.

Under the leadership of Mashaba, the City has illegally withheld almost R30million of workers’ money in its attempt to cripple SAMWU in Johannesburg. We have also learned that individuals who had been captured by Mashaba have now stolen R19 million with the help of Mashaba and municipal management.

Workers have felt the wrath of Mashaba for the past 3 years, with the Mayor prosecuting workers through the media without any shred of evidence. To this day, many workers have been placed on extended suspensions.

Mashaba has sought to collapse collective bargaining in the City and limit the rights of workers through an illegal Memorandum of Understanding. Workers in the City of Johannesburg have made it clear that they were not consulted and as such have distanced themselves from this illegal agreement.

In us welcoming the resignation, we do not anticipate any fundamental changes in the City, changes which will be in the interest of workers, so long as the DA is still in charge of the City. We however believe that any devil we get will be better than Mashaba.

Issued by Papikie Mohale, National Media Officer, SAMWU, 21 October 2019