Pik-it-up Puts-it-down - [website] Published: 15th of Apr 2011 by: (c) Staff Training Reporter
The strike by Pikitup workers in Johannesburg has now entered the second week and there is no end in sight as yet.
Meanwhile, Joburg’s streets and pavements are piling up with more and more litter and the bigwigs continue with their obviously ineffective talks.
Samwu (SA Municipal Workers Union) is the driving force behind the strike, but the reason for workers abandoning their posts is, according to Eyewitness News, so that investigations into allegedly corrupt managers would be conducted and also for wage differences to be equalised.
Which is perfectly fine if you ask me. Of course wage differences should be dealt with and any hint of corruption should be smothered, but what infuriates me is the way in which these situations are dealt with.
It’s like we’re a bunch of unruly children who see the opportunity to kick up a fuss and then we run with it, paying no heed to the warnings of others and eventually doing far more harm than good.
Refuse removal is, although some might not think it, a vital part of a wholesome community. Without it litter begins to pile up – and when that happens you begin to attract vermin and diseases and end up with things like water poisoning – yet as soon as a dispute is raised this is all forgotten and it’s like its playtime at the park.
What’s more is the fact that Pikitup workers have been seen parading around the streets spreading the trash about in an attempt to make a stronger point, but the damage is being done to themselves as well.
It always amazes me how we can never put our personal agendas aside and say ‘you know what, the service that needs to be delivered here, and the result of that job, is more important than the squabbles that stop it from being done.’
It’s the same with public transport. How is going on strike and leaving millions of people without a means of travelling to work worth a five percent increase?
And by no means am I saying these workers and unions should just accept things the way they are, especially if corruption or inequality is the reason for the strikes, but I am suggesting that we find a more innocuous way of resolving these issues other than the hugely disruptive protests and strikes.
Vital services like transport, refuse removal, electricity and water are functions that in my opinion should run smoothly regardless of what disputes are taking place. That way unions would also not be able to hold the country hostage by having workers down their tools for indefinite periods of time, which I think is a very cheap move on their part.
The City of Johannesburg has taken Pikitup to court stating that the health of the city is being compromised, which can’t be allowed to happen. They have also apologised to all those who have been affected.
