Municipal employees interdicted from striking illegally

A strike by members of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (IMATU) took place from Monday, 19 September, to Thursday, 22 September.

According to municipal spokesperson Jeanette Tshite, The matters raised by municipal workers have been discussed between the stakeholders. These issues included: Covid-19 allowance payment, the permanent appointment of all temporary workers, tools of the trade, personal protective equipment (PPE) and Covid-19 danger allowance.

SAMWU requested a certificate of non-resolution over the same issues, which would have cleared the way for strike action, but the Bargaining Council dismissed this. The council argued that there was no dispute between the parties since SAMWU’s concerns did not fall under the scope of the Local Labour Forum (LLF).

READ MORE: Municipal workers strike to get attention

“Regardless of the outcome, they still went on strike and, therefore, it became an illegal strike. It was thus declared after the municipality applied to the Labour Court for an Interdict. It is, therefore, not only illegal but also unprotected,” Tshite explained.

According to Tshite, the municipality did not collect revenue for four consecutive days because the strike had disrupted normal operations. In addition to putting the lives of community members and non-striking employees at risk, the first day of the strike was violent, which also caused damage to municipal property.

The employees’ conduct was not in line with municipal policies or the standard code of conduct for municipal officials.
The executive mayor, Gaba Ka Qhele, expressed the council’s regret at what occurred last week, saying it was unnecessary and avoidable. Several basic services were not provided to the public as a result, and he apologised to those who were inconvenienced.