Johannesburg municipal waste manager Pikitup’s services were disrupted on Friday owing to protest action by Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) employees, over a payment dispute.
The EPWP employees were contracted by Pikitup to assist in clearing the waste backlogs that accumulated over the festive season.
The employees were closing down depot gates, preventing trucks and other employees from leaving the depots. They were demanding to be paid their stipends immediately for their services.
Pikitup explained that the reason for the nonpayment of the stipends resulted from EPWP employees not submitting all the required documentation to allow for the facilitation of payment on time.
This was despite Pikitup having requested the documentation on numerous occasions; the required documents were reportedly submitted only after the payroll closure.
Meanwhile, the waste manager made a special arrangement with the City of Johannesburg’s finance department to make payments on Friday; however, owing to it being a special payment arrangement, the money would not reflect immediately in the employees’ bank accounts.