Centurion residents upset as strike interrupts service delivery
Employees affiliated to the labour union of the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) declared an unlawful and unprotected strike action.
Various Centurion residents have complained about service interruptions, and more specifically, about waste that has not been removed since last week.
According to Selby Bokaba, Strategic Communication and Marketing and Events spokesperson for Tshwane, residents were warned of a possible continuation of service disruptions on Friday.
“Employees affiliated to the labour union of the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) declared an unlawful and unprotected strike action.
“This is despite the metro having been granted an interim order by the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Friday evening.
“Tshwane applied for an urgent interdict on Friday after employees affiliated to Samwu embarked on a service interruption spree, opening fire hydrants, halting trucks from collecting waste, disposing waste in some parts of the CBD and blocking buses from operating and disrupting traffic flow in the CBD.”
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Bokaba said the interim judgment has ordered Samwu members to immediately disperse and are interdicted and restrained from participating in the strike action. They are prohibited from performing any acts of destruction of any public or private property or from intimidating any of the metro’s employees not partaking in the strike action.
“The following services are likely to be affected if the unrest continues unabated: bus operations, licencing and waste collection, especially around the CBD.”
He said management will continuously assess the situation in respect of bus operations and will only release the buses when it is safe to do so, as they wouldn’t want to risk the situation where buses are used to block traffic in the CBD. Neither would management want to put the lives of the drivers and commuters at risk.
“Waste collection services, including public cleaning may be affected. Furthermore, waste collection to businesses and bulk waste services may also be impacted, however, we don’t anticipate any challenges regarding domestic waste collection,” Bokaba said.
“Waste disposal sites, however, remain vulnerable during strike situations. Some clinics are also likely to be affected as well, but disruptions would be minimal. The metro will take a hardline stance against anyone who violates the court order and will strive to ensure that its customers are not unnecessarily inconvenienced by the unprotected and unlawful strike action as declared by the Labour Court.”
He said the metro is pinning its hopes on law enforcement to maintain law and order and to enforce compliance with the interim court order.
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