Metro still reeling from violent strike action

The Tshwane metro says it will not bow to the demands of Samwu and remains steadfast in its position of not implementing salary increases.

More than a month into the South African municipal workers union (Samwu) strike, the metro says it is still reeling from its effects. This is despite the trade union calling for workers to return to duty in late August.

The metro still says it is receiving violence, intimidation and sabotage reports.

This, among other effects the strike has had, was revealed during a press conference by Mayor Cilliers Brink, joined by numerous MMCs and officials.

“We will not buckle in the face of any one interest group who uses violence and disorder to bring us to a fall,” said Brink.

“It’s not about this government, it’s not about this term of office, it’s about a society where the rule of law is upheld and where democratic elections are respected and democratically elected councils can make decisions that can be carried out.”

Since the commencement of the illegal strike in late July, Brink continuously asserted that the metro does not have the means to increase salaries. A position that he reiterated.

“The simple fact of the matter is Tshwane does not have money, this is an issue that is affecting many municipalities.

“We have to cover the R3-billion funding gap which is what the funding plan aims to do. That plan was supported by 155 of Tshwane’s 215 councillors, including the official opposition. One of the measures taken in the budget of the funding plan is 0% salary increases for councillors and employees. The council also authorised the city manager to apply to the bargaining council to receive the necessary exemption,” Brink asserted.

The metro reported that in the past 48 hours, two waste removal trucks had been torched. This has impacted waste collection in the metro, as providers have begun withholding their services in totality.

It stated, however, that the truck-torching perpetrators were sloppy and authorities currently have a “major” lead that they are investigating regarding the arson.

“After this strike is over, and it will be over, we will stand our ground. There is going to be a bill that has to be paid for damage suffered by the city, residents and ratepayers,” Brink continued.

He hinted that there may be a possible civil claim that the metro plans to bring against Samwu.

Tshwane city manager, Johan Mettler said 34 cases have been reported to the police.

The cases range from public violence (2 cases, 19 arrests), malicious property damage (5 cases), common assault (1 arrest), cable theft (2 arrests), car hijacking and attempted murder (1 case), intimidation (1 case), death threats (1 case), and arson (3 cases).

“We are very seriously looking at these matters and working in cooperation with our security cluster, both locally and nationally, to investigate and bring all of these criminals to book,” Mettler stated.

The city manager also said that various fire stations were closed as a result of the strike, something an emergency service provider isn’t allowed to do.

Since the strike began on July 24, Rosslyn, Ga-Rankuwa, Bronkhorstspruit and Rayton’s fire stations have been closed, though Mettler reports that they are all operating again.

The metro also reported fires at landfills, two continue in Hatherley and Soshanguve.

“There are garbage depot fires. These fires were all set on purpose in Lyttleton, in Dorandia, Magalieskruin, Rooihuiskraal, and Mountain View – all in August,” Mettler continued.

Other fires in August included the Bronkhorstspruit impound yard, rubbish in Thabo Sehume Street, the Soshanguve Block F guardhouse and the Rooiwal water treatment plant.

The strike has hurt emergency services due to the number of fires and their duration, and resources have been exhausted.

Security requirements to attend to these fires have also increased and firefighter resources have also been exhausted.

“At critical sites, we beefed up static security by the TMPD and SAPS. Some of these needed 24-hour surveillance but only at critical sites. The TMPD and SAPS in some instances have had to escort service delivery teams, both city and contracted workers to and from depots to complete their tasks,” Mettler stated.

The metro also stated that it has no intention of settling the matter of dismissed workers. So far, 122 have been dismissed for their strike participation.

MMC for Corporate and Shared Services, Kingsley Wakelin said the metro has presented its case for the dismissals and the salaries withheld are currently going through legal processes that have nothing to do with the city. The metro stated that it also aims to take action against strike-sympathising line managers through consequence management processes.

“This is not the first warning sent. We have sent several to these workers and they have chosen to violate a court interdict and turn their backs on residents,” Brink asserted.

The MMC and the mayor also thanked ward councillors and private security companies for their service to the metro free of charge. Around 45 companies have been escorting employees or patrolling critical metro sites.

MMC for Community Safety, Grandi Theunissen stated that 22 arrests have been made so far and 12 investigations, which can lead to multiple more arrests, continued.

“Certain matters have been escalated from our local security cluster to provincial and even national scales. As the mayor said we are the Capital City with national key points being targeted,” Theunissen stated.

On Monday (August 28) it was announced that waste collection would return to the normal schedule, though the burning of trucks has put a halt to that.

All buses also remained grounded.

Proposal made to metro for private refuse removal

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