Municipal workers to return to work

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Pretoria- Striking municipal workers are to return to work later today and tomorrow.

"Workers will go back to work either today or tomorrow," South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) spokesperson Tahir Sema told BuaNews on Wednesday afternoon.

An agreement, which will see an end to the ten-day strike, was reached last night between Samwu and the South African Local Government Association (Salga).

Sema said the union will sign the agreement with Salga later today.

"The agreement on matters of dispute was reached between the parties in the bargaining council," Salga spokesperson Melisa Kentane said.

Sema would not divulge details of the agreement since it was yet to be signed but said that the union will issue a statement later today.

The workers were calling on Salga to implement a uniform job grading system among other things.

Since the strike began, uncollected refuse has lined the streets of Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town. Many bus commuters were also left stranded. In parts of the country, streets were trashed by the striking workers.