Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

21 July 2026

2-minute read

In an interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat this morning on Sabahul Muslim, Lukhona Mnguni, the official mayoral candidate for the RISE Mzansi political party in the City of Johannesburg, confirmed that approximately 361 Pikitup personnel at the Marlboro, Midrand and Randburg have downed tools.

The dispute between casual workers and the organization stems from the fact that the City has failed to absorb casual workers, some of whom have been working for the department for 5 to 7 years, into the organization. Many workers have applied to be taken in as full-time employees but have received little feedback from the City. Furthermore, contractors have been paying differentiated wages, with different employees receiving varying wages for doing the same job. The City of Joburg has postponed the meeting to address these issues to next week.

In some depots, the permanent workers are now acting in solidarity with the casual workers, citing the strain of their workload and falling below the norm and standard due to the shortage of casual staff. Most Pikitup depots require 6 workers per truck, but they are now down to three per truck.

Mnguni said that intervention should come in the form of immediately absorbing the casual personnel into permanent positions to “ensure a degree of fairness” and to maintain a standardised salary paid by all contractors. Long term, the City ought to address the “gross injustice” and make sure workers are receiving their payslips on time and consider an “absorption mechanism” for casual staff.

RISE Mzansi firmly believes that day-to-day jobs should not be outsourced due to the permanency of waste collection, so that the City Johannesburg’s municipal challenges can be stabilised.

Listen to the full interview here with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat and guest Lukhona Mnguni here.