Staff Reporter.
The City of Tshwane says the strike by South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) employees has degenerated to thuggery after an employee was shot and hijacked.
Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the employee is a standby team member from the Water & Sanitation Section, and was confronted after responding to a water outage in Montana.
The city has been operating with a skeleton staff since workers affiliated with the Samwu downed tools in July.
The municipal workers are unhappy over various issues, including the non-payment of salary increases.
Workers are demanding 3.5% and 5.4% salary increases, an amount that Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink said the city cannot afford.
The city believes Samwu members were responsible for the attack after their strike “degenerated into thuggery and wanton criminality”.
Bokaba said the team was confronted by a group of men who intimidated and instructed them to stop working.
“The team ignored them and continued to render a service. On completion of the shift, while on his way home, the standby team leader was shot and hijacked. He was rushed to hospital,” said Bokaba.
City Manager Johann Mettler has urged law enforcement to bring the perpetrators to book.
“This incident is deplorable, and we plead with law enforcement to find the suspects, lock them up and throw the keys away. We will not cower in the face of intimidation by thugs. If the perpetrators are found to be our employees they will be booted out of the employ of the city,” said Mettler.
To date, the city has fired 93 striking workers.
Bokaba said, the city issued the final ultimatum to employees who are participating in the strike to return to work, failing which they will be dismissed.
He further added that the City had filed a salary and wage increase exemption application at the bargaining council. The application will be heard on August 23.
Brink said the incident is another intimidation tactic used by the striking workers against their non-striking colleagues.
“I am horrified by the attack and equally thankful that the official survived the attack. The attack must be a turning point in the unprotected Samwu strike that has involved the disruption of services, the sabotage of infrastructure and the intimidation of fellow employees.
“The circumstances clearly point to a link to the unprotected strike action, and it accords with some of the other tactics that have been used.”
Compiled by Lehlohonolo Lehana.