GroundUp reports that SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) strikers strewed rubbish and emptied bins in busy Market Street, Uitenhage, on Wednesday on the second day of a strike over pay.  

Samwu members in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality are demanding a R7,000 a month “Covid-19 compensation allowance”.   Samwu, the biggest union in the metro 4,000 members, has ordered all its members to down tools.  Municipal buildings have closed, including customer services and the traffic department.  Talks between Samwu leadership and the municipality were held on Tuesday, but differences could not be resolved.  At a briefing on Wednesday, Mayor Nqaba Bhanga said:  “They [Samwu] got the certificate to strike from the court and not the City. If they want to embark on a fully-fledged strike they must apply for it, because they are now breaking the law of the country.  A ‘no work no pay’ rule will apply. We cannot accept that essential workers are also taking part in this illegal protest. There will be consequences against all who are taking part in it.”  He also claimed that Samwu was picketing outside of the picketing rules, which allowed only 100 people to picket outside the City Hall.  “We have applied for a court interdict against them and there will be a disciplinary process against all who are involved,” Bhanga stated.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thamsanqa Mbovane at GroundUp <https://www.groundup.org.za/article/nelson-mandela-bay-mayor-tells-strikers-there-will-be-consequences/>

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