Five people were injured when police fired rubber bullets at protesting security guards in two incidents in central Johannesburg on Friday.
A police officer on the scene said they had to fire the rubber bullets after protesters hit passers-by and cars with sticks on the corner of Fox and Sauer streets. Six people were arrested.
Police fired rubber bullets again when the marchers dragged an on-duty security guard to join them on the corner of Simmonds and Market streets.
One person was hit on the head by a rubber bullet in that incident and there were ambulances on the scene to treat the injured.
”He is wounded on the forehead but he is okay, he is talking,” said a paramedic who did not want to named.
”These people would benefit from this strike, so they must join us,” Philemon Mhlongo, a member of the Professional Transport Workers’ Union, said, defending the strikers’ actions.
Thousands of security guards were waiting for their representatives at the nearby Beyers Naude Square to hear the outcome of talks between 13 striking security unions and five employer organisations under the auspices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
”We are waiting for results. Our members are still negotiating with the employers. We demand more money from our employers,” said Mhlongo.
Earlier, Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana strongly condemned the violence that also characterised Thursday’s strike in Pretoria.
Pandemonium broke out in Pretoria on Thursday shortly after thousands of security guards had dispersed from the labour ministry where they had handed in a memorandum of grievances.
Several people sustained rubber-bullet wounds and at least one security vehicle was set alight.
Mdladlana said: ”It is quite disturbing to note that some people will not hesitate to use violence to push their viewpoint despite all the dispute resolution mechanisms at their disposal. Violence has no place and will only harden attitudes and jeopardise any chances of a speedy solution to the dispute.
”The strikers should realise that violence can only serve to destroy their own cause.”
Mdladlana once again urged employers and workers to return to negotiations for an amicable solution.
The South African Chamber of Business said trade unions should be held accountable for any damage caused by their members’ action during the strike.
The chamber also reported that enquiries directed to members indicated that the strike had caused little disruption to normal company operations.
South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) general secretary Randall Howard said Satawu and Congress of South African Trade Unions leaders would address the Beyers Naude Square gathering at 1pm.
Howard also condemned incidents of violence but said the police were not angelic in their conduct.
”Our position has always been very clear. Satawu is not a union that condones violence or intimidation. We expect our members to protest in a disciplined manner and peacefully …
”But speaking about yesterday’s violence, the police, both metro and SAPS [South African Police Service], have to take some responsibility for their high-handedness and lack of restraint.
”We’ve received some disturbing reports about the language and way in which some high-ranking police and metro police spoke to our members.
”Many of our members bear arms … protests can be very volatile and must be very carefully handled.”
The police must be responsible and not provocative, Howard said.
The two-day strike in six provinces was called by 13 unions, representing about 90 000 of 280 000 registered security guards in South Africa.
The unions want an 11% pay increase and better working conditions — including the right to lunch breaks and to use a toilet without being charged with deserting a post on duty.
There are about 283 700 registered guards in South Africa, working for 4 200 registered businesses. About 90 000 are unionised.
Should a settlement not be reached, workers will strike indefinitely from April 3. — Sapa