The Tshwane metro has fired 55 more of its employees who were involved in wildcat strike action. This brings the total number of dismissed employees to 93.

“This continues the city’s crackdown on the unlawful and unprotected strike, which has been ongoing for three weeks now,” says metro spokesperson Selby Bokaba.

Tshwane says it will no longer tolerate lawlessness

Bokaba says the metro will not tolerate any further disruption to essential services or unlawful behaviour.

Since last month, workers affiliated with the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) have protested across the capital city.

This has resulted in the city suspending many of its services and closing some of its clinics owing to intimidation of its workers.

Workers embarked on a wildcat strike after the metro failed to implement the agreed 5.4% salary increase.

DA invites union leaders to the table to be part of the solution

DA chief whip Jacqui Uys told Pretoria Rekord that solving the salary issue was not as simple as people think, adding that it would require the union to be part of the solution.

The Tshwane metro’s salary expenditure surged by a staggering R2.5b between June 2019 and June 2023, from R9.1b to R11.6b a year.

“The city’s history of honouring negotiated salary agreements is evident, except for a solitary exemption application during the 2021/2022 fiscal year,” Uys says.

She says during the 2022/23 financial year, a 3.5% salary increase was enforced which resulted in a benchmarking exercise outside of the local bargaining council process.

“This 18% hike was conceded in the wake of a similar tumultuous episode involving an unprotected strike, violence, and intimidation.

Intimidation leaves service delivery in complete disarray

“Regrettably, this decision to cave to intimidation and violence partly contributed to our present predicament,” says Uys.

Samwu member and employee Simon Ramathe, said: “I feel that Brink and his people are speaking from the point of privilege. We work tirelessly as workers in making sure that this city is well looked after.

“The least the municipality can do at this point is to meet us halfway but instead of doing it they are busy intimidating us with dismissal letters.”