By Lebone Rodah Mosima
Johannesburg Water says service delivery has been disrupted in some areas as employees and other groups continue an unprotected gathering over the Politically Facilitated Agreement (PFA) wage deal, now in its second day.
Earlier this week, the utility said employees affiliated with the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) embarked on the action after City Manager Floyd Brink declined a request from the union’s regional leadership for time off to hold a general meeting with members under the Main Collective Agreement (MCA).
The entity said the disruption has left some operational areas functioning with minimal staff.
“Johannesburg Water is implementing contingency measures to minimise disruptions and maintain the provision of essential services as far as reasonably possible,” it said.
“Customers may, however, experience delays in fault resolution, response times and other non-critical service requests.”
Johannesburg Water said it remains committed to resolving the matter through the appropriate channels and continues to engage relevant stakeholders.
Meanwhile, Johannesburg Ward 117 councillor Tim Truluck said the dispute centres on a R10.3 billion wage agreement approved by the City last year to address pay disparities between Johannesburg municipal workers and their counterparts in other metropolitan municipalities.
Truluck said Brink’s refusal to grant the union’s regional leaders time off to hold the meeting prompted the walkout.
He added that the labour dispute comes as the City continues to face financial pressure.
“This comes right after National Treasury froze July’s equitable share payment to Joburg (and dozens of other municipalities) over poor financial management – partly linked to concerns about affording this same wage deal,” Truluck said.
“So money and labour tensions are both in play.”
National Treasury has since announced it will release the remaining R7.1 billion of the R13.5 billion in Local Government Equitable Share allocations withheld at the beginning of July.
However, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana cautioned that municipalities must still meet financial management requirements before the next quarterly transfer in December.
“National Treasury will commence releasing the remaining withheld July 2026 Local Government Equitable Share transfers from 31 July 2026,” Godongwana said during a media briefing with Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa.
The City of Johannesburg, which initially had R3.5 billion withheld, will receive a final tranche of R440 million after R2.6 billion was released to settle Eskom debt and just under R1 billion allocated to water boards.
Godongwana stressed that the release of the remaining funds should not be interpreted as a sign that municipalities have resolved their financial management shortcomings.
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