Outrage as Cape Town Rubbish Removal Company Fails to Pay Workers

Waste workers protested on Thursday, demanding to be paid their wages.

Dozens of Khayelitsha waste workers protested on Thursday because they have not been paid by one of the City of Cape Town’s contractors, Manandi Services.

They barricaded Baden Powell Drive, Macassar Road and Japtha Masemola Road with stones and burning tyres in the early hours of the morning, then marched to the Khayelitsha Training Centre to meet their employer and City officials.

The workers were employed to collect rubbish in various wards of Khayelitsha since the beginning of September, but say they have either been paid short or not at all.

Contractors in other parts of the Cape Flats have also failed to comply with their contracts, causing rubbish to pile up in parts of Mitchells Plain, Strandfontein, Capricorn, Khayelitsha, Helderberg and Philippi.

“It’s painful to work without pay,” said waste worker Silulami Vungayi. He says he will not have enough money to send his son to initiation school in December. He called on the City of Cape Town to ensure workers are paid.

“I have no food to eat at lunch time at work. I just fold my arms at lunch time,” said Nosisi Ngxabano.

Another employee, Phumeza Qoqwane, told GroundUp that no one in her family works except for her sister, who is a farm worker in Stellenbosch. “We just add fish oil and beef stock to our rice and eat it,’’ said Qoqwane. She said the City should give the contract to a different company.

Some workers have had to take out short-term loans because of the non-payment, which they are unable to pay back.

Rubbish is piling up in several areas of the Cape Flats as contractors fail to meet their contractual obligations.

The protesters arrived at the Training Centre and demanded to be let into the premises, but they were not allowed through the gates. City officials wanted to address them from the other side of the gate, but the protesters refused. They then returned to Baden Powell Drive to continue their blockade and “cause more damage,” one protester said.

Last week, during a tense meeting between Manandi Services management and employees, company owner Nandipha Sidelo said that she did not have enough money to pay salaries and was trying to borrow money from the bank. In terms of the contract with the City, the company must cover costs for the first three months until the City pays the company.

In a statement, the City said it is “taking urgent steps to stabilise refuse removal services … following contractual non-compliance.” The City is in the process of terminating contracts and appointing new contractors.

All the current employees of the non-compliant contractors will be absorbed by the new contractors, and the City is “working to ensure” that they are all paid for work done.

“Going forward, the City will look into strengthening checks and balances as part of the procurement process that can better ensure that appointed service providers are capacitated to honour the terms of the contract,” the statement reads.

Manandi Services did not respond to questions.

Khayelitsha waste workers barricaded roads and burned tyres on Thursday.

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