Please, not again! Municipal employees were ordered out of the civic centre just before 12:00, with workers gathering at the municipal stores on the corner of Walter Sisulu Street and Protea Street.

Sources told the Middelburg Observer that South African Municipal Workers Union representatives entered the municipal buildings just before 12:00 and ordered all employees to stop working and exit the buildings.

Samwu meanwhile distanced the union from the actions of a few.

The strike has been brewing for weeks, and the precautionary suspension of 14 solid waste department drivers last week has now resulted in a full-scale call to strike.

The Middelburg Observer predicted the strike on its front page last week.

The drivers were notified of pending suspension in writing last week, and the solid waste department has been on a go-slow since December.

In December, the lease agreement for rented garbage trucks expired. Since then, employees have been forced to make use of the old municipal fleet, with only six vehicles available.

Four of the vehicles serve Middelburg, with two serving outside towns within the municipality.
Due to the shortage of vehicles, garbage collection schedules can not be met.

This resulted in rubbish being collected around midnight or even later in some areas, including Gholfsig and Kanonkop.

Some areas haven’t had their garbage collection for three weeks.

Municipal Manager Mandla Mnguni is currently in meetings to address the labour issues.

He told the Middelburg Observer that he would return calls after the meeting.