Disgruntled former “Operation Vat Alles” workers, which is officially known as Extended Public Works Programme are demanding payment from the City of Tshwane Municipality.
This after they were dismissed from work in 2016 after they refused to sign new work contracts under the then incoming Democratic Alliance administration which had taken over the Municipality’s governance from the ANC.
They were joined by security officers who are demanding insourcing from the City of Tshwane.
Former EPWP workers known as Operation Vat Alles and security officers protest at Tshwane House photos by Dimakatso Modipa
The workers, also known as “Tlhaba-Tlhaba,” in the townships, told Tshwane Talks that they refused to sign new contracts as they were not signing any new yearly contracts whatsoever for the five years that they had been working in the EPWP programme before 2016.
“We signed contracts only once at the time of our employment and we refused to sign the new one year contracts as we regarded ourselves as permanent City of Tshwane Municipality workers because we were even paid with City of Tshwane Municipality pay slips,” said one of the dismissed EPWP workers.
“We took the matter to court and won numerous times against the Municipality, and the first time we did this was in 2016 shortly after we were dismissed by the DA administration,” she said.
She emphasised that they won against the DA administration in the High Court as well as in the Labour Court; with both courts ruling that they must be allowed to go back to work and be reimbursed for lost earnings for the period of time were not allowed to work and have a salary.
“In 2016 the High Court ruled that we be paid R12 000 each as we had not been paid for six months at the time as we had not been allowed to work and draw salaries, but the DA administration refused to reinstate us and also refused to pay us the said R12 000 each,” she explained.
“In 2019 the Labour Court ordered that we be paid R317 000 each but the City of Tshwane Municipality again refused to pay those monies and on 9 March 2026 the Constitutional Court ruled that the City of Tshwane Municipality can not offer us any jobs, so we are now demanding the R12 000 as well as the R317 000 payments as we have now lost hope of ever being employed by the City of Tshwane, Municipality” she said.
About 1 503 former EPWP workers were affected and some of them have since died while others are already of pension age.
Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise, who received the memorandum from the protesting former EPWP workers, said the following to Tshwane Talks:
“We are aware as the City of Tshwane Municipality that the court has ruled that we must pay them; we don’t want to appear like we are delinquents and since we as the Municipality have not contested the outcome of the court we must pay them, and I must say the DA administration in the City of Tshwane is the one that caused this problem,” said Modise.
“We are actually dealing with a mess left behind by the DA administration in many respects,” he said.
Lucky Moganedi who worked in the City of Tshwane EPWP programme from 2014 until he was dismissed together with other workers who had refused to sign new contracts told Tshwane Talks that he has been unable to find alternative employment as in some cases he was told that he is currently employed by the City of Tshwane Municipality.
Sylvia Nkobane from Soshanguve who worked in the EPWP since 2012 said she is 65 years old now and has never bothered to find alternative employment because of her age.
She said one of the things she would do should she get the payment that is due to her from the City of Tshwane would be to build a wall around his house and buy furniture.
Gauteng Provincial Progressive Civic Congress (PCC) Treasurer Cyril Thabiso Phatsoane said his organisation stands with the former EPWP workers as well as the security officers of Tshwane in their plight.
“It has been eleven years since these people have been fighting for their rights and the promises made by the then administration of the DA have not been fulfilled even though there is a Council resolution that states that security officers as well as waste management workers must be insourced,” said Phatsoane.
“Every year we are told that there is no budget and we are here today to say to the Municipality that we can’t wait any longer for our people to get what is due to them,” he said.
“I am happy that the MMC for Finance has agreed to sit around the table with us the whole day on Thursday and iron out all these issues,” said a visibly satisfied Phatsoane.
Meanwhile, MMC Modise also revealed that many people are going to be arrested for earning salaries as ghost workers and that senior Municipality officials are involved in the ghost worker scam.
Copy of memorandum:
PCC Tshwane Picket Memorundum_Insourcing_080626
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