Municipal workers will embark on an indefinite strike in Cape Town next week, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) said on Tuesday.
Samwu said the strike was a protest against the city’s unilateral implementation of new conditions of service and pay structures.
The city had also relocated staff without any agreement with the union, and refused to abide by national bargaining-council agreements.
”We want to make it very clear that this strike is not merely a hurriedly planned sympathy strike with the 95 metro police officers who were suspended last week, although they as Samwu members will also be striking,” a statement read.
However, the city rejected the union’s allegations.
”We have engaged in several bargaining processes with Samwu through the bargaining council, as well as three different mediation processes, which they walked away from,” said council spokesperson Pieter Cronje.
He said the city had concluded a placement agreement with the majority union, the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union.
”We don’t accept that there was any bad faith or unilateral action,” he said.
While the city respected the union’s right to strike, the city’s first duty was to ensure service delivery to its residents, and it would take ”every step” to ensure that.
”It must be pointed out that staff members in essential services may not strike,” Cronje said.
Samwu said the strike decision followed a ballot of members of the union’s Cape metro branch, 90% of whom agreed to an indefinite strike starting next Tuesday.
Union members planned to march the same day to the Civic Centre together with communities affected by poor service delivery.
Previous Samwu marches have been marred by strikers’ attacks on police and the dumping of tons of rubbish on city streets.
”Mayor Helen Zille must now take responsibility for services which will definitely be disrupted … Zille has had months to resolve our grievances and has failed dismally to do so,” the union said. — Sapa