Metro police officers will protest outside their Johannesburg headquarters on Thursday while union bosses meet with city management, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) said.
”Metro police officers will be converging at the Johannesburg police headquarters for the whole day, until they get a satisfactory answer from city management, and only then will they go back to work,” said Samwu spokesperson Vincent Vena.
Seven metro police officers were injured on Wednesday when the South African Police Service [SAPS] fired rubber bullets at metro police protesters who were complaining over salaries and nepotism.
The SAPS said it was forced to take action after members of the metro police fired live ammunition at them while blocking major roads and highways in Johannesburg.
Vena said the union was locked in a meeting with Johannesburg African National Congress (ANC) leaders on Thursday morning.
”We want the ANC to intervene in terms of assisting us … Yesterday [Wednesday], we couldn’t get anyone from the city. We felt that maybe the ANC will be able to talk to the mayor.”
Vena said they were still waiting for a time to be set for a meeting between the union, the Johannesburg metro police department (JMPD) and city management.
City manager Mavela Dlamini earlier confirmed that a meeting would take place and apologised for the inconvenience caused to road users.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Opperman said it was quiet in town on Thursday morning.
”We are monitoring the situation,” said Opperman, adding that he was not sure whether more protests will take place.
”It is difficult to say. We will have to see what will come from their side.”
The protests started ”out of anger” on Wednesday after metro police officers ”could not get a satisfactory answer” in a meeting with city management, said Vena.
He said city management did not have any ”satisfactory answers” to complaints of nepotism and salary structures.
”There was no permission to protest, it was just an outcome of the workers’ anger after the meeting,” he said.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the mayor of Johannesburg to find an amicable solution as soon as possible.
”JMPD are using state resources to defend their illegal actions and furthermore are causing further cost to the ratepayer of Johannesburg by holding the very citizens that they are employed to protect hostage along the highways,” said Darren Bergman, the DA’s spokesperson for safety in Johannesburg.
”The mayor needs to be vocal now and stop the strike in its footsteps and get the unions around the table as soon as possible,” he added.
”Furthermore, all JMPD officers found to have used live ammunition should be dealt with through the correct and appropriate legal channels,” said Bergman.
The police opened a case of attempted murder and holding an illegal gathering, as well as obstructing the normal flow of road traffic. — Sapa