The South African Municipal Workers’ Union warned on Wednesday that a strike by
about 8 000 workers on the East Rand was set to continue.
This comes after Ekurhuleni mayor Duma Nkosi refused to accept a memorandum from protesters outside his office in Germiston on Tuesday, saying their strike action was illegal.
”The municipality has the option of going to court to interdict the strike if they feel it is illegal, which they are not doing because they have no chance of winning an interdict,” a Samwu statement said.
The union added that key services, including buses and waste removal, would come to a standstill.
Workers are demanding that Tembisa Waste Project employees must be made permanent staff members from July. Samwu also wants workers to be paid on the same grade as councillors and they have demanded an end to the alleged preferential treatment of police chief Robert McBride, who is on paid leave.
”Samwu is well aware that the Ekurhuleni municipality and the leaders of the metro police are totally against the union because we have been blowing the whistle on the illegal activities of people such as Robert McBride for a long time now,” the statement said.
A meeting would be held at 1pm on Wednesday to discuss a planned march in Johannesburg on Thursday. – Sapa