Pikitup workers protest on Nelson Mandela Bridge
Around 500 Pikitup workers aligned
to the Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers Union of South Africa
(Demawusa) staged a
protest on the Nelson Mandela Bridge on Friday.
The workers gathered at the bridge in downtown Johannesburg after they were refused permission to the Pikitup offices.
Demawusa spokesperson, Ncobile Ndabandaba, says its members are demanding permanent employment at the company, after their 3-year contracts - through a labour broker- came to an end in August.
The Constitutional Court recently ruled in favour of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) that an employee who earns less than the stipulated threshold (R205,000 per annum and less), contracted through a labour for more than three months, becomes an employee of the firm.
"In terms of the Labour Relations Act, once a person has been employed for more than three months within a company it shows that there is a need for that persons services and the person has a right to request for permanent employment," Ndabandaba says.
Ndabandaba says the members have been trying to engage with Pikitup but the company has been unresponsive.
She says they are on the bridge to raise awareness of their plight.
The workers are also hopeful of meeting with a representative from Pikitup in order to discuss the way forward.
Efforts to reach to Pikitup have been unsuccessful.