Tuesday’s countrywide municipal workers’ pay protest was wrapped up by mid-afternoon with conflicting claims on the effectiveness of the action.
Marchers took to the streets in main centres around the country to highlight their demand for a 9% pay increase, a minimum wage of R3 000, a halt to privatisation, and that pay agreements be valid for one year, not three.
The South African Local Government Association (Salga) has offered a 6% increase.
Salga said the strike had minimal impact and it will bill participating unions for damage caused during marches.
”It is clear that striking employees are resorting to unsavoury acts because of frustration that the withdrawal of labour is not having the crippling effect that they hoped for.”
But South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) spokesperson Roger Ronnie said: ”It went very well. We are happy with the turnout.”
About 5 000 people marched peacefully in Johannesburg, where the most visible impact was the absence of municipal buses.
”Give peanuts to monkeys. Stop giving us this nonsense salary increase. We demand a decent increase,” said Clive Dunstan, general secretary of the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union, during the Johannesburg march.
Acting city manager Sibongile Mazibuko said: ”As the city of Johannesburg, we want both sides to go back to the negotiating table and find a solution to the impasse.”
In Pretoria, the city’s Sammy Marks library was closed and in Centurion the licensing centre was closed, with the two staff members there deployed to help out at the Waltloo centre.
Most of the disruption were in the north of the city, with services operating at 50%, spokesperson William Baloyi said.
A demonstration by disgruntled municipal workers threatened to turn nasty at Cape Town’s Civic Centre.
Glass bottles and other objects were thrown at police. Earlier, marchers emptied kerbside rubbish bins, strewing the contents across the route of the march.
Once at the Civic Centre, marchers were met by a rank of police officers with riot shields standing behind a razor-wire cordon before the building’s main entrance.
Protesters first began pulling and pushing the wire barrier, but when several glass bottles arched through the air out of the crowd and shattered close to the police, march leaders called on them to remain disciplined.
”Don’t do that!” a leader implored repeatedly over the public address system. ”Comrades, you must be disciplined. Comrades, leave the fence alone!”
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) Western Cape secretary Tony Ehrenreich told the crowd: ”We can’t allow the apartheid wage gap to continue.”
He vowed if the municipal workers’ wage dispute is not settled soon, ”thousands and thousands [of Cosatu members] will come out in support of your struggle”.
Protesters later dispersed peacefully after a memorandum — addressed to Cape Town mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo — outlining the unions’ demands had been handed over.
There were also reports of bins being overturned in Durban in the march by about 5 000 people from Currie’s Fountain to the City Hall, and an unconfirmed report that a Verulam security guard was stabbed by striking workers.
Lele Mamatu, spokesperson for Mangaung local municipality, said there was a high absence rate in municipal workshops and the infrastructure sector.
”There were some disruptions experienced in our workshops but not serious, while workers involved in waste removal — bucket system — in Botshabelo and street cleaners in Bloemfontein did not turn up for work,” Mamatu said.
In Kimberley, municipal workers handed over a memorandum to the executive mayor of Sol Plaatje local municipality, Patrick Lenyibi.
Roger Ronnie said Samwu has been asked to attend an informal meeting with Salga on Wednesday and will assess the results of a members’ ballot on future strike action. — Sapa