“Please put your house in order; prioritise us; don’t treat us like second class workers; we are a vital part of the City of Tshwane regarding safeguarding its assets and infrastructure,” said Chairperson of the Security Officers Alliance in Tshwane Joshua Mudau as he spoke to Tshwane Talks shortly before he and his aggrieved fellow security guards toyi-toyied to the headquarters of the City of Tshwane Municipality (Tshwane House) on Thursday morning.
Modau’s emphatic statement referred to City of Tshwane Municipality Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya.
The marchers first converged at the Old Marabastad bus depot before proceeding to the CBD to hand their memorandum of grievances to the City of Tshwane Municipality officials.
“We want the process of insourcing us security officers into the City of Tshwane labour force to be implemented with immediate effect as it is long overdue and in 2021 some 1 300 officers were absorbed into the City of Tshwane labour force and some of us were left out of that insourcing process,” explained Modau.
“That insourcing process was not fair and we are going to give the City 14 days to respond to our demand for insourcing and failure to do that will result in us regrouping and getting a fresh mandate from our fellow security officers as to how we resolve this matter, and if it comes to a push we will shutdown the City of Tshwane to show how important we are in the overall scheme of things in the City, and this is not a mere threat,” warned Modau.
“These City of Tshwane officials don’t even know us as security officers as at all because all that they know is the labour brokering companies that are contracted to them at our expense,” he said.
“We feel that we are much more important than these labour brokering companies which exploit us; pay us late and when we engage the City of Tshwane in this regard we are told that we are not recognised by the City; that it is the labour brokering companies who have contracts with the City who enjoy recognition,” he said.
“Today the march is peaceful but the situation may be different next time around,” said Modau.
He said they have for a long time now been engaging with MMC for Environmental Affairs Obakeng Ramabodu, MMC for Community Safety Hannes Coetzee and that of Corporate and Shared Services Kholofelo Morodi regarding the insourcing matter and were told that once the budget is passed their issue will be attended to.
“Now that the said budget has been passed the City of Tshwane has come up with other excuses for not implementing the insourcing process,” lamented Modau.
He revealed that during the 2021 local government election campaign, ActionSA specifically promised them as security officers that should they vote for the party to get into power in Tshwane then they would be insourced right away but that they now feel betrayed because the selfsame ActionSA is in power in Tshwane now but is still dilly-dallying to insource them.
“We are also very disappointed with EFF’s leader Obakeng Ramabodu who also promised to insource us when he was campaigning for votes in the 2021 local government elections but now he has made an about-turn and is not willing to help us,” said an embittered Modau.
He said they feel like they have been used as tools for voting political parties into power in Tshwane.
He said during their next protest march all security officers will leave their posts and join in the mass march to the City of Tshwane Municipality headquarters and no officer will be on site at any of the City’s buildings.
Their memorandum was received and signed by MMC for Corporate and Shared Services Kholofelo Morodi who apologised for the absence of City Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya as well as MMC for Community Safety Hannes Coetzee; pointing out that the pair’s absence was not due to disrespect but was as a result of prior commitments.
“ActionSA is still calling for the insourcing of all City of Tshwane Municipality workers and we didn’t do that in order to get votes but as a matter of principle to end exploitation of workers in the Tshwane Municipality,” enthused Morodi.
She said all workers will eventually be insourced and enjoy benefits like medical care and 13th cheque like those who have been insourced in 2021.
“I am appealing to you to exercise patience and we are in this struggle together as comrades to end labour brokering,” she said.
Copy of Memorandum: