WATCH | Hundreds of Newcastle workers take to the streets in protest

Hundreds of Newcastle workers took to the streets in the northern KwaZulu-Natal town on Monday morning, demanding that their employers address their grievances.

In a notice, the convener of the “peaceful march”, Sugar Thwala, said the march included the Madadeni, Osizweni and Newcastle areas.

The grievances included non-payment of UIF relief for April, May and June, hiring of temporary workers and “R20 per hour demands”.

Thwala was unavailable for comment.

The Newcastle Growth Coalition condemned the protected protest as no social distancing was practised.

“The Newcastle Growth Coalition takes note of the 'strike' but condemns industrial action like this during Covid-19. Structures are in place to resolve issues like this. We hereby request workers to please go to work and we request that no marches take place during Covid-19.

“Let's use the structures in place to resolve the workers' concerns, we cannot afford these type of actions at this stage,” the coalition's chairperson Johan Pieters said. 

On Sunday, Premier Sihle Zikalala listed Newcastle and surrounding areas as a Covid-19 hotspot.

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