The Herald reports that the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) in the Eastern Cape temporarily closed the dilapidated Makhanda police station on Wednesday and vowed to shut others across the province.

Popcru’s Xolani Prusente said the union took the decision to order its members to close the police station as it posed both a physical danger and a health hazard. Prusente indicated: “Renovations that were meant to restore this station began as far back as 2021, yet the appointed contractor disgracefully abandoned the project midway through 2024, leaving behind a skeleton structure where doors and windows remain open, where there is no running water, and where members are expected to function without ablution facilities. This has turned what is supposed to be a centre of service into a health hazard, exposing workers to disease and stripping them of the most basic workplace rights.”

Prusente said the union would embark on a province-wide programme to close several other police stations with hazardous work environments. A police spokesperson said service delivery was not affected by the temporary closure on Wednesday and the police station had been operating smoothly since.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Herald
• Read too, Police union shuts down Eastern Cape police station over abandoned R52m renovation project, at News24 (subscription / trial registration required)

Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page