Pikitup is employing fewer people in 2025/26 than it did six years ago. On paper, the biggest drop has been among unskilled workers, whose numbers halved from 4,649 to 2,358. Meanwhile, semi-skilled staff surged from 439 to 1,882. Much of this shift is from a September 2023 restructure, which included the reclassification of unskilled roles and expanded Pikitup’s overall approved jobs from 6,348 to 10,429 across its professionally qualified, senior technical, semi-skilled and unskilled employees.

Yet in 2025/26, only 44% of those 10,429 jobs are actually filled. To cut costs, the City of Johannesburg placed a moratorium on filling vacancies, according to Pikitup’s third-quarter report for 2025/26.

But the freeze hasn’t stopped overspending. Pikitup has overspent its overtime budget by R30-million. Unbudgeted City-mandated wage increases also saw the payroll overspent by R59-million in the 2025/26 year to date. It has left Pikitup with no funds to hire staff, despite what it calls “critical vacancy levels”.

Produced in partnership with Our City News.