THEY protested in anger, barricading the entrance to the Odi Rand Water plant in Mabopane, Tshwane, with buckets of kak.
When that did not get their employers’ attention, the women among the protesting workers stripped down.
But even with their breasts swinging in the stinking breeze, it appears that their protest was in vain.
The Expanded Public Works Programme workers demanded full-time employment and alleged that some among them had been appointed based on their managers’ written motivations.
But a spokesman for Odi Rand Water, human resources manager Avhashavhi Singo, poured cold water on their demands: “EPWP workers were appointed as contract workers and their contracts ended on 31 December. No one was taken on permanently as they claim,” he said.
One of the protesting women, Salome Mokwena (40), said they stripped off their shirts to show management just how serious they were about getting permanent jobs.
“Maybe if we show them our private parts they will give us permanent posts because it seems they want to sleep with us first before that happens,” Salome said.
She said they felt it was unfair that they had worked for more than a year without getting permanent positions, while others were allegedly permanently employed after only six months.
A superviser, Windsor Menyuko, said management had told department managers to write motivational letters to indicate how many workers they needed in their departments. He said that managers only motivated for some workers, not everyone.
“We want the managers to take everyone in and not select only a few people.
“There should rather be no selections at all,” he said.
