No official word if eThekwini strike has ended
Although there has been no official confirmation from the eThekwini mayor that the municipal strike is over, service delivery across the city has resumed.
ETHEKWINI Municipality has not officially announced whether its employees’ illegal strike has ended. Still, teams of City workers have been seen in Amanzimtoti sweeping the streets and collecting refuse since March 19.
Also read: Interruption of refuse collection services due to strike
The South African Municipal Workers Union, however, has announced that if its demands for higher wages are not met, the strike will continue.
On March 18, eThekwini spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said refuse collection and street-sweeping services had resumed.
“Massive clean-up operations and the clearing of the waste-collection backlog have already commenced. Residents are requested to take out their refuse bags on the morning of their scheduled collection days,” said Sisilana.
A week earlier, the City had said that while only a small percentage of the workers were on strike, those who chose to go to work were intimidated and, in some cases, assaulted by those on strike. As a result, City manager Musa Mbhele said those who reported for duty were afraid to respond to call-outs.
Ward 97 councillor André Beetge said Mbhele needs to clarify in simple terms whether the strike is over or not.
In response to the question raised by Beetge during the eThekwini Executive Committee (Exco) sitting of March 18, Mbhele confirmed that while the four-week strike affecting the uShaka Marine Theme Park was resolved, the city-wide strike across all departments had not yet been officially called off by the union. Mbhele added that considerable progress had been made with demands reduced to essentially six points, which included salary increases and grade adjustments to align with other metros.
Also read: eThekwini strike causes schools to close [Video]
Although the South African Municipal Workers Union had undertaken to discuss the City’s offer with members and to return with answers after the weekend, the City was not prepared to budge on point three, which dealt with revoking disciplinary action against 935 employees directly implicated in the unprotected strike action.
In a follow-up, Beetge also requested clarity on the approach and financial implications of the City’s previous ultimatum, wherein employees were reminded of the no-work-no-pay policy associated with the unprotected strike. Mbhele said that while this may have resulted in employees reporting for duty, they were not leaving their depots to perform any duties. This left the City drowning in waste and sewage, while water and electricity outages were left unattended.
Mbhele confirmed that 86% to 95% of workers had already reported for duty. “Those who were of the impression that they would be paid without actually doing any work were in for a surprise come month end,” he said.
Beetge said that while the municipality would have residents believe the strike is over, the reality is that it is far from over.
“Our call stands that those who don’t want to work be immediately fired and security protection be afforded to those wanting to work,” said Beetge.
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