A GROUP of security guards who held a night vigil outside Tshwane House on Tuesday have expressed their frustration over working under private security companies contracted to the City of Tshwane.
The guards bemoaned the fact that security companies were prioritising profit-making over their wellbeing.
They talked about their plight on the day when both ActionSA and the EFF brought two motions seeking to in-source security guards during an ordinary council sitting yesterday.
The motion by ActionSA was passed with at least 109 votes, but it was opposed by the ANC and the EFF.
ActionSA caucus leader Jackie Mathabathe said the multiparty coalition advocated for insourcing of security and cleaning personnel, saying the programme was essential for ensuring their dignity and protecting municipal infrastructure.
According to the motion, the feasibility study must be conducted by city manager Johann Mettler and its outcome first be presented to the mayoral committee.
“A feasibility study and business case focusing on promoting insourcing will be presented to the council for consideration no later than before June 1, 2024 to allow for budget consideration,” Mathabathe said.
ANC chief whip Aaron Maluleka said his party was in favour of the EFF motion and not the ActionSA’s, which was “the delay tactics” and “an insult to our people who are desperately looking for jobs”.
“Insourcing, as a principle, has been accepted by this council and we are done with it. What we are now dealing with is the second phase of insourcing, which we want to hear when it is going to start,”he said.
He challenged the multiparty coalition to present to council a report regarding the first phase of insourcing before embarking on the second phase.
He accused the multiparty coalition of sitting on a report about the first phase of insourcing.
The report in question, he said, highlighted the problem of completing the full package of the insourced workers, who also lacked tools of trade.
EFF regional leader Obakeng Ramabodu said: “We are saying to the council that let us continue with phase two but equally so, check the problems that we had in phase one. So that these two phases can be implemented without problems. The tactic by ActionSA is to buy time. ActionSA behaviour and action is just to delay insourcing.”
ActionSA councillor Kholofelo Morodi said: “On February 25 2021 before ActionSA could come into this council this council took a decision to rescind the insourcing of security workers after that we saw a tender awarded to 22 companies that went out and exploited men and women in the city, who worked very hard. We have people who have been working for 14 years on contracts that don’t get paid on time.They go for months without salaries and without any consequences.”
Outside Tshwane House, security guards’ representative Sello Mmatloa said: “We want the City to in-source us because it has been long in the city working under companies contracted to the City of Tshwane, but being exploited by the very same companies.”
He said the guards were tired of being forced to suffer and exploited by the companies that were given tenders by the municipality.
“Our children are suffering. We can spend up to four months not getting paid our salaries. We don’t have some pension funds and they don’t pay us any bonuses,”he said.
The EFF motion on the same subject was yet to be tabled at the time of going for publication.
During the previous council meeting the EFF vowed to table another motion seeking to persuade the municipality to in-source guards after its bid to do so failed with ActionSA and other multiparty coalition partners voting against it.
In recent years, the City in-sourced almost 1 500 security guards after the council resolved that the City must abolish the hiring of private security companies and employ 4 000 guards in-house in a new directorate called the Asset Protection Unit, under the auspices of the Tshwane Metro Police Department.
Pretoria News