Union accuses Rand Water of ‘spreading lies’

On 17 August, Samwu issued a 48-hour notice that its workers would strike if Rand Water did not concede to wage demands within 48 hours.

The accusation that Rand Water is “spreading lies” comes after the union’s national collective bargaining officer Chumani Gqeke said Rand Water’s claims in the media were different to what he knew to be true.

Gqeke said in media reports Rand Water’s spokesperson Justice Mohale argued, “In case an action is embarked on, there won’t be an interruption to water supply … there are people lined up who know the job.” Gqeke said that while Rand Water claimed to be ready for the strike, and that the strike action would have no impact at all for the delivery of water services in four provinces, he knew this was not the case. “In a sign of panic, we were surprised today to receive an intention to interdict our strike. In court papers, Rand Water argues that they are exposed to the imminent strike, that they are not prepared for and that they have no ability to prepare for or take counter measures in regard to this industrial action,” he said.

Gqeke said it was obvious that they were knocking on the right doors hence the fear and panic within Rand Water’s boardrooms. He added that it was clear that Rand Water wanted to intimidate the union from going ahead with the strike action. The union stated that the matter of the interdict has been set to be heard before the courts on 20 August at the Labour Court in Braamfontein. Gqeke said they believed that Rand Water was wasting its time and money in taking this matter to court, and that the simple solution to this is to concede to the demands of workers.

The union vowed to defend their right to go on strike and promised to pull their members from local government to go on strike in solidarity with fellow workers at Rand Water.

Gqeke also noted that Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane has since intervened in the matter but said her intervention seemed to be directed at crafting a plan that would minimise the impact of the strike and not solving the problems faced by workers at the utility. “As the shareholder of Rand Water on behalf of citizens, we urge the minister to instruct the board to ensure that workers’ demands are met, otherwise the only solution would be a full blown industrial action,” he said.

He also stated that it was unfortunate that community members in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State and the North West provinces are going to be affected by the strike. This can only be attributed to the failure of Rand Water to ensure that negotiations continue in an open, transparent and in good faith.

Rand Water is yet to respond to the latest accusations by Samwu.

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