The protest strike by eThekwini municipal workers affiliated with the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) continued on Monday morning.
Huge piles of uncollected trash littered several suburban streets on Sunday afternoon. The strike disrupted essential services such as electricity and garbage collection.
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The ongoing strike over wage increases began on February 27, with many households struggling to access water and resolve sewage leaks and electricity problems. Garbage collection has also come to a standstill, and services at municipal clinics have also been affected.
Read: Water is being sold illegally in eThekwini
Areas affected include Hillcrest, Embo, Marian Ridge, Mpora, Ntuzuma, Inanda, Redcliffe, Buffelsdrei, Waterloo, Parkgate, Umlazi, Kwamakufuta, Adams Mission, Engonyameni, Phoenix, Verulam, Otongasi, Includes Trenance Park, Kwasimba.
Service outage in many areas
Ntuzuma C Section, north of Durban, is one of the communities affected by the strike. Households there remained without water for about a month until it was restored late Friday.
Ntuzuma C Community Foundation chairman Bongani Mthiyane said residents felt ignored by the municipality.
Mr Mthiyane accused the municipality of making excuses every time he asked when the issue would be resolved. Residents confirmed that water service had been restored over the weekend.
Ntuzuma H Section has received many complaints about unresolved broken or clogged sewage drains. Kulekhani Ndlovu said he reported a water leak near his home about three weeks ago. “We can't live like this. These people don't care about our well-being. I understand they want better pay, but we the people who pay the bills… “We're not sacrificing that,” he said.
Residents of Ntuzuma burned rubble and other objects in the streets last week.Image: Nokulunga Majora/Groundup
Roads in some areas are also littered with dirt and plastic. Andiswa Mwandla, a resident of Umlazi, told GroundUp that most people resort to dumping household waste because the smell inside their homes is unbearable.
Another resident, Zandile Madondo, from Newlands, said: “We keep our garbage indoors to prevent the neighborhood animals from tearing it up.” But the stench is unbearable. ”
Samu and Sarga
Samwu eThekwini chairman Siyabonga Dladla told Newzroom Afrika that the organization wants to restart the collective bargaining process. He said the union has made numerous attempts to meet with the municipality to resolve its concerns.
Leaders of the South African Local Government Association (Salga) have urged the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to intervene to address the ongoing labor dispute in eThekwini.
Among the issues they want Cogta to consider is standardizing municipal pay structures for all municipal employees.
According to Salga, the ongoing unprotected strike in eThekwini is a stark reminder of deep-rooted problems in the sector.
One of more than a dozen uncollected trash piles in Umlazi.Image: Nokulunga Majora/Groundup
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Residents urged striking workers not to inform them.
Prime Minister Nomsa Dube-Ncube is now being asked to intervene in the matter.
The municipality subsequently obtained an emergency injunction from the Labor Court prohibiting unlawful conduct, violence and obstruction by municipal staff. Employees who engage in such behavior will be subject to disciplinary action.
As the strike continues, the city has suspended 20 employees and issued misconduct notices to 79 others. Thirteen striking workers appeared in court on Wednesday to face charges related to public violence and damage to critical infrastructure.
In a statement, eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda blamed striking workers for service disruptions around the metro.
Kaunda said the city remains committed to urgently restoring services such as water and electricity supplies while addressing security threats from infrastructure destruction.
Kaunda called on residents not to alert striking workers about teams working to restore services in various areas. “This has led to attacks on some employees. Many areas have been without water and electricity for several days, resulting in patients being unable to receive medical care,” he said. .
Mr Kaunda said areas without water and electricity for several days were bearing the brunt of this illegal strike action.
He asked residents to store waste indoors until waste removal services are restored.
Mr. Kaunda also urged city authorities to take legal action, if necessary, to ensure that striking employees return to work or face termination.
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© 2024 GroundUp. This article was originally published here.
