Middelburg municipality says R4.3m in May overtime fuelled waste department dispute

According to The Citizen (Middelburg Observer), Middelburg Local Municipality told the Labour Court that its solid waste department generated R4.3m in combined overtime and Sunday pay in May, a figure the municipality says fuelled a week-long labour dispute.

What the court filing says

The municipality filed documents in the Labour Court dated July 7, stating that overtime in the solid waste department reached levels equal to approximately 118% of the department’s entire basic salary budget. The filing said the department comprises 204 employees across cleansing cost centres, including drivers, machine operators, foremen, supervisors, artisan assistants and general refuse collectors.

Pay totals and staffing figures

In May the municipality recorded R3.6m in basic salaries for the department. Overtime payments were R2.9m, with Sunday-time pay of R1.4m, bringing the combined overtime total to R4.3m, the court papers say.

Strike, suspensions and roster dispute

The filing identified 16 employees as responsible for a go-slow that began in December and said those employees were served with precautionary suspension letters; the dispute escalated into a strike that started on June 29 and lasted about a week. The municipality described “self-interest” as the driving force behind the labour action, the filing says.

Compactor truck leases and roster changes

The municipality said the overtime surged after staff pushed back against the use of leased compactor trucks. Following fleet decline from natural attrition, the municipality leased seven refuse compactors on a full-maintenance lease rather than buying new trucks. The lease totalled R22.6m, at roughly R21,000 per day, and was presented as a saving compared with a R42m purchase price; the filing said the lease produced a R19.7m saving.

Last month the municipality leased an additional two compactor trucks to help address backlogs; those two were leased for R108,100 over five days, at R10,810 per day. The municipality also said it introduced a rostered shift system for teams, which a core group of employees objected to and which coincided with the go-slow.

Budget constraints and procurement limits

The municipality told the court it cannot afford to buy more than one truck every financial year at around R6m each, and that capital budget and cash flow are already strained. The filing said the municipality must use external service providers or equipment where shortfalls exist.

Union role and current status

According to the filing, the municipality rejected an ultimatum to withdraw the leased trucks as not being a legitimate trade union demand and said Samwu and Imatu stewards did not address the matter with the workers involved. Workers returned to work after the week-long strike and are now collecting refuse under a status quo agreement, the municipality told the court.

Distribution of the court papers

The municipality said the Labour Court filing was distributed to the entire municipal staff component by email so municipal employees were made aware of the dispute details, the filing states.

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