Task team for eThekwini guards’ grievances
Durban mayor James Nxumalo announced that a special task team would be set up to speed up the eThekwini Metro Municipaity’s staff regrading process.
|||Durban – Durban’s mayor James Nxumalo announced on Wednesday that a special task team would be set up to speed up the eThekwini Metro Municipaity’s staff regrading process.
The announcement on Wednesday followed the storming of municipality’s executive committee (exco) at the Durban city hall by municipal guards to demand that they be regraded.
Heinz de Boer, the Democratic Alliance’s member on the exco, said the guards stormed in on Wednesday morning as the weekly meeting was about to kick off.
The weekly meeting was held up for almost an hour on Wednesday morning as the guards expressed their grievances and agreement was reached that the city management would meet with the guards later on Wednesday.
It was the second time that the guards, whose duties include protecting Nxumalo, had stormed an exco meeting to demand that their grievances be attended to.
A statement released said the guards were VIP Protection Officers and members from the eThekwini Security Management Unit.
The task team consists of the Chairperson of the Health, Safety and Social Services Committee, Councillor Zandile Gumede, Chairperson of the Governance and Human Resources Committee, Councillor Nondumiso Cele and City Manager, Sibusiso Sithole.
Nxumalo expressed concern at the manner in the way that the guards had raised their grievances.
“I am very concerned about the way you are handling the matter. I would understand if you approached us for a meeting to raise your concerns. We appreciate the work you do but your actions are setting a bad precedent and showing other departments that they too can disrupt Exco to raise concerns. That is not how Council works and we cannot allow that and there are serious consequences to such action,” Nxumalo reportedly told the guards.
However, last month, the Mercury newspaper also reported that guards had stormed an exco meeting, claiming that their requests to be regraded since 2005 had fallen on deaf ears.
Nxumalo urged staff to follow proper procedures when raising grievances.
African News Agency
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.