By Maageketla Mohlabe
JOHANNESBURG, April 5 South Africa’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) has called for an urgent intervention to end a strike by workerts of garbage disposal company Pikitup as people are exposed to health risks, especially in informal settlements while rubbish heaps around the City of Johannesburg mount.
Pikitup workers affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) have been on an illegal strike for more than a month. They are demanding a salary hike from 6,000 Rand to 10,000 Rand (388 to 646 US dollars) a month as well as the dismissal of Pikitup Managing Director Amanda Nair.
Residents complaining about the rubbish say: “Our children come and play here. Once they are done playing with the rubbish and germs, they go and eat indoors. The smell is so overwhelming that I can feel it when I am asleep. It is too much to bear. We struggle to sleep.”
The population of flies is now the dominating sight and there are fears that rodents will thrive and multiply.
Professor John Frean, who works on parasitology surveillance, diagnostics and research at the NICD, said: “Flies can transmit germs mechanically on their legs. People handling the rubbish or playing in it, as children might do, might be exposed.
“Then there is a rodent problem and a number of diseases that are associated with rodents; they can attack people, they can bite them, they can transmit infections either directly, by their bites, or from their excretions.”
The Gauteng Province Health Department is appealing to have the waste cleaned up.
“We understand the workers’ issues and that they are central. We will never downplay those issues. However, workers must have a full understanding of the impact and the implications of the uncollected rubbish over such a prolonged period of time,” said the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) Qedani Mahlangu.
However, the only way to control the rodents and flies is to get rid the rubbish but those responsible, SAMWU, are still relentless on their demand. “We will go back to work provided that the employer gives us money,” said a disgruntled worker.
While negotiations have failed to progress, the City of Johannesburg says it has already established a Joint Operations Centre to identify and prioritise hot spots for urgent attention.
SOURCE: SABC