VIDEO: Over two-week-long strike action wreaks havoc in healthcare, refuse collection, bus services
Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink on August 1 has described that Tshwane was being violently assaulted by well-orchestrated strike action.
Service delivery has become a casualty as Tshwane and its staff remain deadlocked over the annual increases.
Tshwane members of the mayoral committee announced this week that clinics had to be forced shut, while waste collection backlog grew.
In the eastern parts of Pretoria, the Hatherley municipal dumping site caught fire over the weekend.
According to Tshwane a team on site was still battling to extinguish the fire, which further made it inaccessible thus affecting waste collection in regions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.
On the other hand, Tshwane bus services have not been operational since last week, while two A Re Yeng buses were attacked.
According to Tshwane metro, one bus was pelted with stones in Menlo Park, Pretoria east, last week with commuters on board while the second was attacked this week.
The A Re Yeng bus had to seek shelter at a filling station with commuters on board after receiving threats. It was later escorted by the TMPD.
Operations remain suspended.
Mayor Cilliers Brink on August 1 said the violent and well-orchestrated strike action was an assault on Tshwane.
Brink said the protesters were intimidating staff and sabotaging infrastructure.
“The intention is clearly to cause chaos and disruption so Tshwane is forced to pay salary increases, which we cannot afford.
“Clinics are being shut down, water and electricity restoration is delayed and employees are being intimidated, while waste collection is also affected.”
Tshwane MMC for Health Rina Marx also detailed that the municipal workers allegedly aligned to the South African municipal workers union (Samwu) have been denying patients access to clinics.
Marx has since requested the deployment of the metro police to some of the closed clinics.
She said patients could not collect or receive their life-saving medication while the strike continued.
“Access to healthcare services is a basic human right that is highlighted under Section 27 of the Constitution of our country, which states that everyone has the right to access to healthcare services.”
She said the strike action endangered the lives of patients who need critical medical services.
“I want to make it clear to employees who have embarked on this unprotected strike action that you are all endangering the lives of innocent patients who need critical medical services.”
Marx said staff and patients were persistently being threatened not to open clinics, while patients were being denied access to primary healthcare services and medication.
“Processes are being put in place to assist clinic staff with trauma counselling.
“Of concern is that, despite the court order interdicting the strike action, several clinics continue to close due to security concerns.”
Lyttelton, Folang, FF Ribeiro, Hercules, Karenpark and Rosslyn clinics closed last week and remain closed.
WATCH:
The Labour Court in Braamfontein recently granted Tshwane an interim interdict against striking workers, while Samwu welcomed an order directing Tshwane to implement salary increases within 10 days.
On July 27, the South African local government bargaining council (SALGBC) directed Tshwane to increase salaries by 5.4% salary as per the 2021 collective bargaining agreement.
The union had written to the SALGBC to ask it to enforce the agreement as per Section 33A of the Labour Relations Act, Samwu general secretary Dumisane Magagula said.
The SALGBC order directs Tshwane to implement the increases as follows:
– Salary increase of 5.4% effective from July 1, 2023.
– Minimum wage increase to R9 531.54.
– Homeowner allowance increased to R1 011.77
“As Samwu, we are pleased that the SALGBC has acted and protected collective bargaining and stopped the attempts by the City to reverse the gains made by workers and for workers,” said Magagula.
He said Tshwane could not deny workers their salary increases for the second time in three years.
“We, therefore, urge Tshwane to comply with the order.
“We will as a union be monitoring the implementation of this order, while also continuing the fight for the implementation of the 2021 3.5% salary increase, which the city failed to implement.
“Our members, and municipal workers in general cannot be relegated to poverty and starvation by the City of Tshwane, these workers are failing to catch up with the forever rising cost of living.”
He said if Tshwane respected collective bargaining, it would have complied with the order as directed by the SALGBC.
“The union will use all resources at its disposal to ensure compliance with this order.”
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