Protect our members – Tshwane workers unions demand
The Independent Municipal & Allied Trade Union has detailed how intimidation, harassment and violence against its members who are not participating in the unprotected strike has strengthened throughout the four-week-long strike action in Tshwane, with sporadic attacks mushrooming.
Two unions with a combined membership of about 16 000 Tshwane metro employees have appealed to the metro to safeguard its non-striking workforce in the Capital City.
The Tshwane strike action has entered the fourth week, with sporadic attacks mushrooming in various regions and unions are demanding action.
In a recent incident, an employee was injured in a shooting and hijacking, while bus services remain halted for close to a month due to intimidation and stoning, service restoration was delayed, a water valve in Soshanguve tampered with leading to reservoirs depleting load and patients forcibly removed from clinics.
The strike ramifications are that about 100 employees have been dismissed for either participating in the unlawful strike or intimidating non-striking colleagues since the strike started.
Destruction has raged on close for a month, despite the Labour Court in Braamfontein granting Tshwane an interim interdict against the strikers on July 30.
Independent Municipal & Allied Trade Union (Imatu), Tshwane manager Lynette Burns-Coetzee said, “The unprotected strike in Tshwane is not subsiding and will continue in full force”.
She said the intimidation, harassment and violence against Imatu members who are not participating in the unprotected strike, continued.
“Imatu has, on numerous occasions, pleaded with Tshwane to provide our members with a safe work environment to render their services.
“We have, however, not been answered on our requests and the metro has done nothing tangible to alleviate the current harassment, intimidation and violence against our members.”
Burns-Coetzee said union members at various workplaces throughout the metro have been targeted by “thugs, who enter in disguises and physically remove our members from their offices and threaten our members with their lives”.
“Our members have been assaulted and their motor vehicles damaged.”
She claimed that the few Tshwane metro police officers available were there to protect assets, not employees.
“Imatu is again requesting that the city manager bring in police crowd control units to ensure the metro returns to a stable and safe workplace.”
South African municipal workers’ union (Samwu) Gauteng secretary Mpho Tladinyane denied the allegations that his union members were close-knit to widespread attacks in Tshwane, some involving the hijacking of municipal vehicles using firearms.
Tladinyane demanded Tshwane take responsibility for failing to protect its staff.
“These are the conditions which our members and municipal workers in Tshwane are exposed to daily. We have reported many incidents wherein workers were attacked, robbed and assaulted by criminals while they were on duty.
“Tshwane has continuously failed to ensure that employees are provided with a safe and healthy working environment in line with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”
Tladinayne said workers were anxious to respond to service complaints in various no-go areas, due to regular attacks.
“Despite our many interactions with Tshwane, there has been no appetite to provide workers a safe working environment.”
Tladinyane further claimed that the group of employees who were harassed and (one) later shot, were members of the union.
“Samwu is devastated following the shooting of an employee and hijacking of the municipal vehicle in Montana on Saturday evening.
“We can confirm that the employee who was shot and subsequently rushed to hospital is a member of the union.”
“Tshwane made serious allegations against the union and its members and tried to link this unfortunate and barbaric incident to the demand for the implementation of salary increases for the years 2021 and 2023.”
He said the incident was not new to workers in Tshwane.
Tshwane employees have fallen victim to numerous hijackings and shootings through the years:
– In July 2023: A 29-year-old security guard died during a shootout with suspected cable thieves.
– In October 2022: Soshanguve electricity depot staff were hijacked in Winterveldt.
– In February 2019: A water tanker was hijacked in Winterveldt.
Tshwane metro Selby Bokaba said Tshwane was working towards ensuring service delivery and safety of teams.
“It’s not very difficult to provide police escort to teams while attending to service interruptions, however, the challenge arises after they’ve knocked off and are being attacked at home, or while driving back home.
“That’s what happened to a colleague who was shot and hijacked at the weekend.”
Bokaba said Tshwane was devising plans to ensure that it attends to interruptions as soon as practically possible.
“We’re continuing to identify the ring leaders to dismiss them. But they’re pushing back by escalating intimidation and violence.
“Yesterday (August 16) they set alight the waste truck belonging to a service provider outside the Mamelodi landfill site.”
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