Cosatu backs SAMWU in challenging municipal structures act in ConCourt

PHUTI MOSOMANE

COSATU spokesperson Sizwe Pamla has described the move to prevent municipal workers from holding any positions in a political party as “ludicrous,” this as the labour federation supports its affiliated union, the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU), in their decision to challenge the constitutionality of the Municipal Systems Amendment Act in the Constitutional Court.

The labour federation said the Municipal Systems Amendment Act of 2022 is “fundamentally flawed and simply unconstitutional. The Amendment Act introduced a new blanket ban on all 350 000 municipal employees from holding office at any level in a political party.”

According to Pamla, the initial draft of the Bill, which was agreed upon by the ANC-led Alliance and government, only proposed limiting political association for municipal managers and the senior managers who report directly to them.

“This agreement and provisions were quietly and clumsily amended by Parliament on the instigation of the