Ladysmith - Daily operations at uThukela district municipality, anchored in Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal, have ground to a halt after allegations that members of the labour union, Samwu closed its gates.
The fight between Samwu and the district municipality apparently started on Tuesday.
The bone of contention between the labour union affiliated to Cosatu and the IFP-led municipality was over monies deducted in December last year.
That was when some of the workers, including those who are members of Samwu, downed their tools, plunging towns like Estcourt into a water crisis during the December festive season.
The district municipality then decided to implement the “no work, no pay” rule which saw the striking workers losing a significant portion of their monthly salaries.
NEWS: UThukela district municipality says it is under siege after workers affiliated with SAMWU allegedly blocked their gates, making several demands. The chaos started when the workers demanded to be paid their money which was withheld during the December wildcat strike. @IOL pic.twitter.com/U1bbPnvCd4
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) March 24, 2023
The union fought back and demanded the deducted money be paid back. The municipality, after obtaining a legal opinion, paid back the deducted money to the workers.
A source within the municipality who alerted IOL about the ongoing stand-off claimed that the workers shocked many on Thursday when they persisted with their strike.
“On Thursday they started a fresh strike with their union and this time around, there were new demands, which included that EPWP workers should be hired permanently.
“On Thursday it was then agreed that there would be a meeting on Tuesday to listen to their grievances,” the source said.
However, the insider said the workers and their union shocked many on Friday morning when they blocked their offices.
“On Friday morning the workers, led by their union, blocked the gates leading to the municipal offices.
“They later set the gate on fire and the municipality was forced to call the police to intervene. Sadly, they did not arrest anyone for the arson and the chaos that was unfolding in front of them.
“The workers were adamant that they will not stop their action and drop their demands until the municipality has been taken over by Cogta (Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs) in the province.
“That raised eyebrows because the municipality is already under administration and the administrator was brought in by the same Cogta,” the insider added.
The municipal manager, Mpumelelo Mnguni did confirm that there was a stand-off between the municipality and Samwu-affiliated employees.
He said all attempts within their means were explored, albeit with no success, further saying there have been attempts to meet with Samwu from the province, but they could not make it to the meeting.
He said they have since arranged to meet over the matter next week Tuesday.
Repeated attempts to get Samwu in the uThukela region did not yield any results. Their comment and detailed side of the story will be added as soon as it is received.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
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