REUTERS
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A new municipal workers’ union, with officials boasting a collective 340 years’ experience in labour issues, has been established in Durban.
The National Associated Municipal Trade Union (Namtu) was formed after a meeting of eThekwini municipal workers in June.
The new union’s legal advisor, Dempsey Perumal, said the workers believed there was a need for another union because municipal employees had lost a number of benefits over the past few years.
These included allowances.
Perumal said municipal employees had also suffered losses because of a new salary curve.
“Insofar as grading is concerned, numerous employees have been placed into incorrect grades, with no recourse to external dispute resolution remedies,” he said.
Namtu had applied for registration and was waiting for the registrar of trade unions to give it the green light.
“We are unable to meet the municipality until the registrar of trade unions returns to us with our registration details,” Perumal said.
“However, in other similar instances, courts have ruled that non-registration is not a bar to representation.”
Workers in the eThekwini municipality are members mainly of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union.
Perumal said Namtu was not affiliated to any other organisation.
Also, it was non-political, he said. – The Mercury
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New union for municipal workers