Ancestors granted us revenge, say Briardene strikers

STRIKING staff rejoiced as a burst water pipe on Marseilles Crescent in Briardene brought their company’s production to a grinding halt yesterday morning. They claimed that the incident was orchestrated by their ancestors, who were granting them revenge.

According to authorities on site, the water pipe was damaged by municipal workers who were digging to relocate the pipe. Water gushed from the site, streaming down the industrial road until the water supply had to be temporarily cut off.

The protest, which has lasted for more than a week, has been motivated by salary demands.

A representative of the protesters,who did not want to be named, told the Nothglen News that he and his colleagues were demanding a five per cent increase.

At the moment the strikers are registered as employers of Durpro Workforce Solutions, an agent or independent workforce provider for AstraMoulding (a division of Astrapak), a plastic packaging company in Briardene.

“We want to be registered as employees of the company and not under the agent. After three months of employment we should be be registered with the company, but there are some workers who have been here for 19 years and still have not been registered with the company. They only register Indians. Only three African workers have been registered,” he said.

According to the striking workers, an employee registered under the agent earns R2 000 per month, while people registered with AstraMoulding are paid R6 000.

The strikers also claimed that they were not being paid when they worked overtime or night shifts.

Another protester who approached the Northglen News said, “We are angry and frustrated, and feel cheap. We actually don’t feel worthy as human beings. They do not follow the rules and policies set up by the government. We all have families to feed,” he said.

What’s more, they also accused the Greenwood Park SAPS, who were called to the scene on Thursday last week, of police brutality. “They shot us with rubber bullets and said that our strike was illegal, but we have a certificate from NUMSA. They went inside and spoke to our employers, and when they came out they just attacked us. They chased some of us all the way down North Coast Road,” said the representative.

Lt Zethu Ngobese of Greenwood Park SAPS denied the accusation, saying that they did not fire rubber bullets at the protesters but were forced to use tear gas as the strikers had become ‘violent’.

“We warned them on several occasions that they are not allowed to block the road or entrance to the company. Nor are they allowed to stop other employees from working, but they did not listen. They become intimidating and even physically grabbed other employees to prevent them from entering the business premises. We used minimum force to disperse them,” she said.

AstraMoulding and Durpro Workforce Solutions have refused to comment.

To view additional photos of the strike and burst pipe follow the link here: Gallery.