The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Monday accused police of brutality by using excessive force during workers’ protests, saying they had fired tear gas and rubber bullets without warning.
It said in a statement that rubber bullets were fired at striking mineworkers in the North West last week and that police had also opened fire without warning at a winery in the Northern Cape several days earlier.
”The union reports that police did not even bother to follow procedure by issuing a warning for strikers to disperse before the captain pulled out a shotgun and provoked strikers and they let loose with rubber bullets and tear gas,” Cosatu said of the incident in the Northern Cape.
Police were accused earlier this year of standing by as union hardliners forcibly prevented doctors and teachers from reaching the workplace during a lengthy strike by public-sector workers.
A spokesperson for Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said he would discuss the complaints at a meeting with Cosatu, which is part of the governing alliance, next week.
”We follow human rights regulations and there are rules that guide protests. If policemen are provoked and workers become unruly during their protest, policemen are entitled to check their excesses, within the confines of the law,” the spokesperson, Hangwani Mulaudzi, said. — AFP
