Cape Town - The City of Cape Town and the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) met on Monday to officially sign a settlement agreement in respect of the outstanding grievances which led to strike action in May.
"Extensive engagement with Samwu on a number of unresolved staff grievances has been ongoing since June 2014 and, following a brief period of strike action, marathon talks have continued during both April and May this year," the City said in a statement.
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On May 6 2015, the City’s executive mayor, Patricia de Lille, and City officials met with a Samwu delegation. The parties agreed that an action team would meet to discuss Samwu’s memorandum of demands in order to decide on the most appropriate way to resolve the demands and to make recommendations in this regard to the parties’ principals.
"The parties have considered the report from the action team and have agreed to implement the relevant actions and outcomes as set out in the report, which lists the 34 grievances and which further provides input on their resolutions,"' the City said.
Both parties have now mandated the action team, headed by the City’s executive director for corporate services, to oversee the implementation of the issues set out and the executive mayor, city manager and the regional chair of Samwu have officially signed the settlement agreement on Monday June 1 2015.
"As a result, the City welcomes Samwu’s undertaking to suspend all strike action for 90 days in respect of the issues in dispute and to monitor the progress of resolution," the City said.
"The Constitution of South Africa allows for workers at all levels to be represented by trade unions. As an administration that is committed to the democratic principle of collective bargaining and holistic dispute resolution, we wholeheartedly welcome the patience and commitment demonstrated by both parties as we have worked tirelessly to reach agreement."
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