Twenty-eight people were arrested during a protest outside municipal offices in Boipatong, near Vanderbijlpark, on Wednesday, police said.
About 50 disgruntled municipal contract workers had been burning tyres and stoning police because they did not want their three-month contracts to end, Captain William Mcera said.
Police were initially unable to enter the premises, with permanent staffers locked inside, but the arrival of reinforcements resulted in 11 women and 17 men being arrested and the municipal offices reopened.
Police had apprehended 42 people but some ”just vanished”, said Mcera.
He added that although the crowd was volatile, when they saw the increased police numbers they surrendered.
They would be charged in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court with public violence and damage to property. — Sapa