The Johannesburg Metrobus strike will go to the Labour Court, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) said on Monday.
Spokesperson Dumisani Langa said Samwu had received papers from the City of Johannesburg on Monday, giving notice of an urgent application to the Labour Court against Metrobus and Samwu.
He said the city will not allow its employees to join a secondary strike in solidarity with Samwu.
”In terms of the law, people who don’t have a direct interest but happen to be in same union can give solidarity to those employees who are on a primary strike,” he said.
Langa said notice of a secondary strike had been filed on Wednesday and the union will call on its 18 500 Johannesburg members to go on strike and ”show solidarity” with Metrobus employees.
Employees from Samwu went on strike last Monday, demanding to be paid out for unused sick leave.
This issue, according to Metrobus’s spokesperson Charles Hlebele had already been dealt with in 2003.
Langa said all Samwu members are still on strike but members of the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union had gone back to work.
”They have the same problems [as Samwu] but unfortunately they’ve gone back to work,” he said.
Langa said the case is expected to go before the Johannesburg Labour Court on Wednesday.
Spokesperson for the City of Johannesburg Virgil James said he would look into the matter and reply to questions later.
Metrobus was not immediately available for comment. — Sapa