Striking security guards — members of the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) — were forced to call off their march to Sandton on Thursday. Their leaders told them to disperse after police fired stun grenades at them in central Johannesburg, injuring guards in the process.
The security guard strike could be over by next week, the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) said on Friday. Speaking to Satawu members gathered in central Johannesburg, Satawu general secretary Randall Howard said the union had heard from reliable sources that ”white employers” would return to negotiations.
Senior African National Congress officials, including President Thabo Mbeki, paid their last respects to anti-apartheid activist Ellen Kuzwayo at the St John’s Anglican Parish in Soweto on Friday. Mbeki told hundreds of mourners that this country is free because people like Kuzwayo refused to succumb to despair.
The South African Trade and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) rejects an interim court order declaring a strike by security guards illegal, but will comply with it, the union said on Thursday. ”The Satawu national strike is therefore suspended with immediate effect and all striking members must return to work to ensure compliance with the court order,” said a spokesperson.
A man was seriously injured when he was assaulted by a group of striking security guards in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The strikers had accused him of going to work while they were on strike. Striking guards handed over a memorandum to employers and insurers and marched to Johannesburg’s Park station.
Over 15 000 Telkom workers are expected to participate in a national stayaway starting on Monday, Solidarity and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said on Thursday. At a press conference held in Johannesburg, both unions said the strike action would be part of a campaign to fight against Telkom’s unfair ”gain-sharing” schemes.
One of the guns believed to have been used in the murder of three African National Congress members, including a party councillor, is also suspected to have been used in the 1995 Shobashobane massacre, KwaZulu-Natal minister of safety and community liaison Bheki Cele said on Saturday.
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/ 27 February 2006
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Thousands attended the Inkatha Freedom Party’s final election rally near Port Shepstone on Sunday to hear leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi attack the African National Congress and its stance on corruption. He said crossing the floor — when councillors are allowed to change parties without losing their seats — fuels corruption.
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/ 26 February 2006
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African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma received a hero’s welcome while campaigning for the upcoming local government election on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg on Saturday. He told community members to vote for the ANC, saying it is the only party that can give them a better life.
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/ 16 February 2006
A group of Khutsong residents declared the township a no-go area for the African National Congress during a protest march on Wednesday. ”We are tired of the ANC. Other political parties are welcome to campaign, but not the ANC,” said Elisa Bogatsa as residents protested the transfer of the Merafong municipality from Gauteng to the North West.