Yesterday, a group of people, identified as protesting members of Municipal Employees & Civil Servants Union (MECSU), left the Boksburg Civic Centre in a ‘shameful’ mess.

Boksburg Advertiser reports that although the area has since been cleaned, the situation remains tense, with customers fearful of visiting the civic centre to pay bills or attend to other service delivery matters.

Yesterday, protesters allegedly defecated and urinated on the floor at the covered entrance of the municipal offices, and garbage was also dumped on the premises.

Union distances itself

MECSU secretary-general Vukile Mlungwana said: “We distance our trade union and its members from these allegations.”

A group of disgruntled MECSU-affiliated workers, demanding that contract workers be converted into permanent employees with fair wages and proper tools of trade, have been protesting outside the municipal offices in the Boksburg CBD for the past couple of months.

An employee, who shared a video of the mess, warned colleagues about the ‘unacceptable’ state, calling out the unpleasant behaviour.

“MECSU members have littered, urinated and relieved themselves at the entrance of Boksburg CCC. Finance office smells like urine, which will affect the employees and service delivery,” said the concerned employee and warned others to stay away from Boksburg municipal offices.

“When is law going to restore order?” the employee asked.

High Court order in place

Germiston City News reported that the City of Ekurhuleni has secured a High Court order to enforce picketing rules during the ongoing strike by MECSU members.

The order, issued by the Labour Court in Johannesburg on October 1, compels striking workers to adhere to lawful protest conduct and refrain from intimidation, violence, or actions that disrupt municipal services.

The ruling requires MECSU and its members to:

• Appoint marshals to monitor picketing at designated sites.
• Restrict demonstrations to approved areas between 07:00 and 17:00 on working days.
• Avoid unlawful behaviour such as intimidation, preventing non-striking employees or the public from accessing premises, damaging property, or assaulting individuals.
• Not wear masks, carry dangerous weapons, or have inflammable materials.

City spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the ruling ‘protects the rights of residents to uninterrupted services while ensuring that the strike remains peaceful and within the framework of the law’.

Mlungwana previously told City News that MECSU had always guided members to conduct themselves within the rules and there had been no reports of misconduct.

Watch the video taken yesterday:

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