Pretoria motorists are facing disruptions on Wednesday morning as EMPD officers block the R21 Southbound in protest over reduced overtime hours, demanding the City of Ekurhuleni restore their previous benefits.

The R21 Southbound Between Bapsfontein and Voortrekker Road is blocked by the marked police vehicles.

Motorists are advised to avoid the route and take the N1 Southbound to the airport or Ekurhuleni.

[03/19, 07:16] Morning everyone

Please be advised there is an EMPD strike on R21 south before the Benoni off ramp- 06h56

[03/19, 07:16] EMPD will be closing lots of highways today. They are on strike. pic.twitter.com/Y1xnAedXn0

— 🔞 SA911 (@Zulu72944051488) March 19, 2025

According to a report by the Kempton Express, EMPD officers are frustrated and demanding the reinstatement of their overtime hours after the City of Ekurhuleni officially reduced overtime from 40 to 16 hours per month, effective March 1, as a cost-saving measure.

The report furthermore states that officers argue that the city is not considering the reasons behind their overtime requests.

On February 27, EMPD officers had planned to picket and hand over a memorandum to the mayor, but the City of Ekurhuleni obtained a court order preventing essential service workers from striking over the cuts and demands to make contract workers permanent.

The Labour Court ruled that essential service employees cannot strike, with a final ruling expected on March 20.

Also read: Is there an outbreak of Staphylococcus in Pretoria?

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