Former Expanded Public Works Programme worker Ntsoaki Tautona has been living with other protesting workers in the gardens near the City Hall in Durban for about a month. They want the City to reinstate them. Photos: Tsoanelo Sefoloko
By Tsoanelo Sefoloko – the original post appeared on GroundUp – summary here by Vuka.news
Workers Sleeping Outside: Former workers from the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) have been camping outside Durban City Hall for a month, demanding their jobs back.
Contracts Terminated: Their contracts ended in July. Many had been working on temporary contracts for over a decade.
Budget Cuts: The eThekwini Municipality reduced EPWP hires due to a major budget cut. Only 1,276 workers will be hired for the 2024/25 year, compared to over 4,000 previously.
Age Restriction: New job applications are limited to people aged 18–35, leaving older workers excluded.
Failed Legal Action: The workers’ union, MATUSA, has taken the municipality to the Labour Court several times without success.
Homelessness: Many workers cannot afford rent and are living in the garden with their belongings.
Personal Struggles:
- Nokukhanya Fakude, 52, a worker for nine years, cannot pay R3,000 in rent. “The landlord has decided to lock me outside and I don’t have any family here in Durban. I have asked the neighbour to allow my children to stay in her room while they are writing exams.”
- Zethembe Dlamini sent his family back to Greytown, causing his children to drop out of school. He feels helpless about providing for his family. “I was shocked to hear that our contract ended. I see myself as a man who cannot take care of his own family now.”
- Living Conditions: The workers endure harsh weather, using plastic sheets for cover when it rains.
Dozens of former municipal workers employed on contracts through the Expanded Public Works Programme picketed outside City Hall on Friday.
