The lawyers acting for the City of Johannesburg (COJ) – Tshiqi Zebediela Inc. Attorneys – have written to their counterparts representing workers facing the chop to say the Monday deadline has been extended to Wednesday.
Last week on Friday, the COJ had demanded that by yesterday, Monday 7 March, the 130 workers whose fixed-term contracts were “illegally” converted to permanent positions respond to letters terminating their jobs.
The termination letters had been delivered to the homes of affected employees by armed K9 members.
Later on Friday, attorneys Motalane Inc. acting for the affected employees wrote to COJ lawyers, Tshiqi Zebediela Inc. Attorneys, saying: “We again reiterate that your client’s deadline to make representations by today, the 4th March 2022 is completely unfair and unreasonable”.
Motalane Inc said they would be ready to respond on Friday 11 March.
However, COJ lawyers’ Tshiqi Zebediela Inc. on Monday only agreed to extend the deadline by two days.
Tshiqi Zebediela Inc. pointed to a difference in extension requests between lawyers for the affected workers and the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU).
“We are instructed as follows … that you are granted indulgence until Wednesday the 9th of March 2022 in line and compliance with SAMWU’s request,” wrote Tshiqi Zebediela Inc. attorneys in their letter to Motalane Inc.
“That we retract our Sunday, the 6th March 2022 extension which granted you indulgence until Friday the 11th March 2022.”
SAMWU is expected to give an update on the matter later today.
