Endumeni Municipality says the responsibility for paying security guards rests with their employer after workers locked the municipal offices on Monday over unpaid salaries.

The security guards told the Courier the have not been paid for about three months without pay, prompting the company’s employees to chain and lock the main entrances to the municipal building.

The guards claim their employer has not paid them because the municipality has failed to settle its bills for security services rendered.

In a statement issued following the protest, Endumeni Municipality said it sympathised with the affected workers and acknowledged the hardship caused by delayed salaries.

However, it condemned the closure of its offices, saying the action disrupted service delivery and prevented residents from accessing essential services.

The municipality said the Municipal Manager had engaged with Izinhloli Security Services regarding the outstanding salaries and had received assurances that the affected workers would be paid.

It urged the company to honour its commitment urgently and communicate clear payment arrangements to its employees.

It called on all parties to resolve the dispute through constructive engagement, appealing for calm and cooperation to allow normal municipal operations to resume.

The municipality said ‘its intervention was aimed at facilitating a resolution while ensuring continued service delivery to the community.’

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