The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) in a statement released last Friday said it ‘condemns in the strongest possible terms the callous, arrogant and inhumane conduct of the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Dada Morero’.
‘Morero has chosen to ignore workers of the Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (DEMAWUSA) as they enter their third day of a peaceful sit-in outside his offices.
‘For two nights, workers have slept on the cold floors of the Metro Centre, enduring hardship and discomfort, not because they seek privilege, but because they are demanding justice.
‘They have sacrificed their comfort, their health and time with their families in pursuit of demands that are both lawful and morally unassailable: The insourcing of EPWP workers, security guards and cleaners; the reinstatement of unfairly dismissed workers; and decent work with dignity for all municipal employees.
‘The Mayor’s refusal to engage these workers is a profound act of contempt not only for DEMAWUSA members, but for every worker who keeps the City of Johannesburg functioning.
‘It is an insult to the cleaners who maintain public buildings, the security officers who protect municipal facilities, and the EPWP workers who perform essential services while being denied permanent employment, decent wages and basic labour rights.
‘The City cannot proclaim its commitment to social justice while turning its back on workers who have peacefully exercised their constitutional rights to assemble, protest and petition.
‘The workers have not vandalised property. They have not resorted to violence.
‘They have conducted themselves with discipline and dignity.
‘Yet their peaceful appeal has been met with silence and indifference.
‘This silence speaks volumes. It reveals an administration that is prepared to ignore those whose labour sustains the city while finding time to engage consultants, contractors and private interests.
‘Such conduct is not merely poor leadership; it represents a failure of public accountability and a betrayal of the constitutional obligation of elected representatives to serve the people.
‘Outsourcing has become one of the principal mechanisms through which municipalities have institutionalised insecurity, poverty wages and exploitation.
‘Workers performing permanent municipal functions continue to be treated as disposable labour through labour brokers, contractors and precarious employment arrangements.
‘This model has enriched private contractors while denying workers the security, benefits and dignity that should accompany public service.
‘The continued outsourcing of municipal services has fragmented workplaces, undermined collective bargaining, depressed wages and weakened the quality and continuity of public services.
‘Workers who clean municipal buildings, guard public facilities and maintain city infrastructure are indispensable to the functioning of local government.
‘There is neither an economic nor a moral justification for denying them permanent employment while municipalities continue to spend public money on outsourcing contracts.
‘The Mayor’s refusal to engage with workers demanding insourcing is therefore a refusal to confront one of the central injustices affecting municipal workers in South Africa today.
‘SAFTU stands firmly with DEMAWUSA in demanding:
- The immediate insourcing of EPWP workers.
- The immediate insourcing of security workers and cleaners.
- The reinstatement of all unfairly dismissed workers.
- Decent work, secure employment and dignity for every municipal worker.
‘We call on the Executive Mayor to end his silence and immediately meet the workers and their elected representatives.
‘Leadership cannot be exercised from behind closed doors while workers sleep on the floors of municipal offices waiting to be heard.
‘We further call upon the City Council and all political parties represented in the City of Johannesburg to intervene urgently to ensure that these legitimate demands receive the serious attention they deserve.
‘Democracy is not measured by how leaders treat the powerful, but by how they respond to the voices of workers and the poor.
‘Should the Mayor continue to ignore these workers, he will bear full political responsibility for escalating tensions that could have been avoided through simple dialogue, respect and genuine engagement.
‘Workers are not asking for favours; they are demanding the implementation of their constitutional rights and the restoration of their dignity.’
SAFTU salutes the courage, discipline and resilience demonstrated by DEMAWUSA members throughout this action.
SAFTU said: ‘Their determination in the face of official indifference embodies the finest traditions of the South African labour movement. Their struggle is our struggle.’
- Meanwhile, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) president Joseph Mathunjwa has called on Impala Platinum to take urgent steps to stop underground locomotives from claiming more lives at its Rustenburg operations.
Mathunjwa spoke during an emergency safety briefing held at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.
He said the repeated deaths linked to rail-bound equipment showed that current safety measures were not enough.
Two mineworkers died in underground locomotive-related incidents at Impala Rustenburg in July 2026.
These latest deaths added to a series of serious safety incidents at the complex this year.
AMCU has stated that seven workers have lost their lives at the operation since the beginning of 2026.
The union argues that the pattern points to deeper problems with how underground locomotives and related systems are managed and maintained.
Mathunjwa stressed that mineworkers should not have to keep dying in the same type of accidents.
He said the company must act decisively before more families are left grieving.
Impala Platinum temporarily suspended mining operations at its Rustenburg complex to conduct a safety reset.
The pause allowed the company to review critical controls, reassess rail-bound equipment and engage with employees.
AMCU welcomed the briefing but insisted that stronger action is still needed.
The union has called for joint shaft safety audits that include AMCU representatives, elected health and safety representatives, management and independent experts.
It has also demanded that the manufacturers of proximity detection and anti-collision systems be involved in the investigations.
Mathunjwa argued that those responsible for safety failures – including managers, engineers and equipment suppliers where systems fail – must face real consequences.
Company leaders have restated their commitment to achieving zero harm and said production targets will never come before the safety of workers.
Additional training for locomotive operators and employees working with rail-bound equipment forms part of the current reset.
For AMCU, however, words must be matched by lasting changes underground.
Mathunjwa made it clear that the union will continue to push for practical improvements so that mineworkers can return to their shifts without the constant fear of another locomotive-related tragedy.
The emergency briefing brought together thousands of workers, company management and government inspectors.
The message from the union remains simple: Safety systems must work, accountability must be enforced, and no more lives should be lost to preventable underground accidents at Impala Rustenburg.