Tshwane on the Brink: Opposition parties call for end to Samwu strike

The opposition has called on Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink to swallow his pride and pay striking municipal workers.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Tshwane caucus chief whip, Godwin Ratikwane, said there was no option for workers to give up.

“If they give up, the city will use the same tactics to fight them in the future,” he said. Ratikwane said the city had no legal reasons to say it didn’t have the money to pay the workers.

“If they didn’t have money, the bargaining council would have sided with the city, but they didn’t,” he said.

Ratikwane said the Democratic Alliance-led coalition did not have majority support in the strike.

“Look at the ACDP (African Christian Democratic Party). They were clear and believed this must come to an end. Look at what ActionSA said, you can see there were cracks in the coalition,” he said.

Ratikwane said workers should continue to fight and get what was due to them.

“Clearly, the cost of the strike outweighs what the city stands to gain in this prolonged strike,” he said.

Transformation Alliance leader Abel Tau said the mayor had bitten off more than he could chew.

“I have faced a strike in my term as acting mayor. One of the things you must understand with this kind of dispute is that employees and labour are hardpressed if you look at what (they are) going through in this country with the high costs of living at the hands of politicians.

“This makes a municipality a very volatile environment where they see politicians responsible for their heartbreak. Therefore, if you make a decision not to pay an agreement, it creates a hostile environment,” he said.

Tau said the city must acknowledge it had erred in its judgment. “There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging you were wrong.”

Tau said the cost of the damages in the city due to the strike was unfortunate.

“These were costs that could be saved and offset against certain other areas,” he added.

Xiluva Gauteng provincial coordinator Oupa Mathibela called on what it referred to as the DA-led coalition of disaster under Brink to find alternative solutions to provide essential services to residents amid the Samwu strike.

He said Xiluva called for all parties to exercise restraint in the interests of the people of Tshwane and to resolve the strike quickly.

“The coalition of disaster has managed to transform the City of Tshwane and its townships into dumping sites, causing inconveniences to citizens who have been struggling to receive vital services for months.”

He called on the DA to reconsider and reinstate the over 100 employees who were fired as this decision had resulted in heightened tension between the employees and the municipality.

“Similarly, Samwu should take measures to prevent its members from intimidating nonstriking workers and damaging municipal property and infrastructure,” Mathibela said.