Municipal workers promise indefinite strike
Medical waste bins were also emptied in the ABSA square, used needles littering the pavement. A placard put up against the fence at the municipal building read, ‘Mr Kebone (MM) we want you to fill the gap, otherwise indefinite strike’.
Municipal workers took to the streets yesterday morning, overturning rubbish bins and skips, scattering rubbish on Scott and Allen Street.
Medical waste bins were also emptied in the ABSA square, used needles littering the pavement. A placard put up against the fence at the municipal building read, ‘Mr Kebone (MM) we want you to fill the gap, otherwise indefinite strike’.
The protest sparked again on Tuesday, with workers barricading themselves inside the municipal office grounds, after a meeting last week with the Mayor of Newcastle, Afzul Rehman and municipal management.
Workers claimed that they were still on a Grade 4 salary scale, while they were working for a Grade 6 municipality.
Police apprehended one municipal worker, Christiaan Lourens, after he overturned a trash skip in the middle of the street, in full view of the gathered officials. “We have been lied to since 2010. Every time they make promises, but then they don’t even get back to us,” alleged Mr Lourens. “Some of us are really suffering. When it is 40 degrees outside, we are working. When it is minus six degrees, we work. When it rains, we work,” he said. “All that we are asking for is our salary. Some of us can’t even take our children to the hospital, and we live in houses full of water,” he concluded.
On Tuesday, as in previous strikes, workers entered the municipal grounds at the town hall. Yesterday morning, security guards locked the gates, forcing the workers onto Scott Street.
“The police are in the middle again,” said police spokesperson, Captain Shooz Magudulela. “Now we are forced to intervene, because they are in contravention of the Gatherings Act. If we do not, it will look like we are failing.”
He further explained the process the workers should follow to strike legally. “This is an illegal gathering; they must first apply, meet with management and an agreed upon date and venue will be decided.”
Although several attempts were made to contact the Communications Department of the municipality, no official comment was forthcoming at the time of going to print.
