MORE than 200 staff members from Sibaya Casino are protesting against what they term ‘unfair wage distribution’. The strike, which is countrywide, involves members from the SA Commercial Catering and Allied Workers’ Union (Saccawu).  Protesters have surrounded sections of the traffic circle outside the casino amidst a heavy police presence, which includes members from the Public Order Unit.

According to a spokesman for the strikers, Paulus Dlamini, unresolved issues relate to wages, night shift allowances, increase of working hours for the equivalent of permanent part-time employees, increase in the housing subsidy and extension of bargaining categories to include higher wage employees.

“Some sectors within the casino are being offered an increase while others are not. We want everyone to have equal wages. We want an eight per cent increase, but management is only offering six per cent.  We have been locked out of the casino and we have been told to move, because the area outside the casino belongs to management.

“But we have a right to protest. We have been peaceful and we are singing struggle songs and are in good spirits. We want to have fair wages,” he said.

Lt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the Durban North SAPS, said while the protesters had been peaceful, they needed relevant documentation which allowed them to strike on public property.

“We are still assessing the situation and we may have to bring in a water canon to disperse the crowd. Many of the workers have illegally parked on the sides of the roads and the Metro Police will be fining some of them,” he said.

Deokaran added that some of the strikers had been fined for drinking in public.

Sun International was not available for comment at the time of publication.

Watch our video from the scene.