Striking security guards will bring business operations in Sandton to a standstill, the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) said on Thursday.
”They cannot be working and enjoying lunch while workers are hungry,” said union spokesperson Jackson Simon.
Simon was addressing a group of strikers gathered at Beyers Naude Square in the Johannesburg city centre.
He said Metrorail was deliberately delaying trains to sabotage the strike. ”A large number of Satawu members are still stuck in train stations in Pretoria, Germiston, Soweto and other areas.”
The guards would wait until all union members had arrived before carrying on with the planned march. ”Even if we have to spend the night in Sandton, we are going there.”
The strikers planned to walk from Rissik Street to Parktown and on Oxford Road through Rosebank to Sandton City.
From there, they will walk to the JSE, where, Simon said, the striking guards planned to bring operations to a standstill. ”They cannot be counting shares while the workers are hungry.”
Earlier reports said more than 15 000 security guards were expected to take part in the march in a bid to resolve their ongoing wage dispute with employers.
The guards, who have been on strike since March 23, would appeal to business in the upmarket suburb to intervene in the dispute, said Simon.
”They [business] seem to be taking a back seat on the matter as they are not affected by the strike,” Simon said, adding that the group’s presence in Sandton ”will demonstrate that Satawu means business”.
No memorandum would be handed over. ”We will demonstrate until workers feel they had enough. We are tired of handing over memorandums,” he said.
Johannesburg metro police spokesperson Superintendent Edna Mamonyane said local police would monitor the march. ”We will be there to make sure that traffic is not obstructed,” she said. — Sapa