DRESSED in their red t-shirts, workers from the eThekwini Municipality painted the city red.
The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) members in the eThekwini region embarked on a march on Thursday, 21 September.
The marchers from different units in the municipality, such as the Durban Solid Waste (DSW), gathered at Curries Fountain and headed to the Durban City Hall.
As they marched through the streets of Durban, they sang revolutionary anthems.
Among their grievances is an apology from the eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, for calling them lazy.
In January this year, Kaunda accused workers of being lazy and doing their jobs as expected.
This didn't sit well with the workers as they said Kaunda is busy calling them lazy, but he doesn't provide resources for them to do their work.
Worker Samkelo Mchunu (44) said she was offended by what Kaunda called them.
"We work hard cleaning the city, but he doesn't appreciate it. Instead, he calls us lazy. We want him to apologise," she said.
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Another worker who attended the march, Sithembiso Dlamini (39), said they want bonuses and category 10.
Speaking to the Daily Sun during the march, SAMWU regional secretary Xolani Dube said: "It is our belief that the municipality does not care about workers. Hence, the mayor called workers lazy."
He said they want the municipality to provide all workplaces with security to protect workers from hijackings and unnecessary killings.
"We demand fair application of leave. We call for immediate equal payment of performance bonus incentives to all employees," he said.
Dube said they call for the provision of tools of trade and working equipment such as trucks and cars.
"We also demand an apology from the eThekwini municipality mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, for calling municipal workers lazy," he said.
He said their demands should be addressed within 14 days of the petition's submission and signing of the petition, failure to do so will result in further action until their demands are met.
