A union in eThekwini said some of the striking workers dismissed by the municipality only participated in the wildcat strike because they feared for their lives.
The Municipal and Allied Trade Union of South Africa (Matusa) has raised issues with eThekwini municipality’s “blanket approach” in dealing with the rogue elements of the ongoing unprotected labour dispute led by the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu).
“The employer is not only dismissing members of Samwu, they are dismissing and charging members of Matusa. I won’t talk about Imatu [Independent Municipal & Allied Trade Union]. We’ve made it clear that Matusa did not call for any strike yet, either protected or not,” Matusa general secretary Thulani Ngwenya told TimesLIVE Premium.
Samwu has been engaged in a violent illegal protest since February 27, which halted service delivery and left the city in a state of chaos for three weeks.
Police are investigating a case of murder after a parks and recreation supervisor died after being beaten, and the attempted murder of two other employees.
The city has responded by initiating disciplinary proceedings against the workers who participated in the strike.
88 employees dismissed
Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda announced last week that 88 employees had been dismissed for participating in the unlawful strike, 81 had been placed on precautionary suspension, and 1,981 were given notices of misconduct.
Ngwenya said the city was aware workers were intimidated to partake in the unprotected strike, yet the disciplinary measures were indiscriminate.
“They know that some workers were intimidated to go on strike, the mayor is on record saying that. Now if they accept that workers were intimidated to partake in the strike, why then do they discipline everyone?” he said.
“It’s uncalled for, for the employer to pull our members to a disciplinary hearing because our members were not on strike.”
eThekwini municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the city would not engage any labour union through the media.
“There is a formal bargaining council structure where all labour matters and concerns are discussed. The municipality respects these processes and will continue to engage labour unions through these recognised structures.”
Notice of suspension
Furthermore, the city has served the head of its electricity unit, Maxwell Mthembu, with a notice of suspension after he allegedly disobeyed municipal manager Musa Mbhele’s instruction to dismiss employees in his department who participated in the strike.
Mthembu is also accused of giving out misleading and contradictory information after allegedly telling one of the city’s councillors the strike was ongoing despite having previously told heads of other units in a teleconference meeting that all his workers were back at work.
Mbhele believes Mthembu's continued presence during the course of his investigation may jeopardise it, or he may commit other acts of misconduct.
“I further believe that your continued presence at the workplace could be detrimental to the stability in the municipality,” he said in a letter dated March 14.
“As a matter of principle, eThekwini municipality does not discuss employer-employee related matters with a third party,” said Sisilana.
Ngwenya confirmed that Matusa is in possession of a certificate from the Bargaining Council that allows them to go on strike.
However, he stressed calling it a “looming strike” at this stage was premature because the union hasn’t made a decision.
“For now there is no looming strike. We are currently engaging with our members through the balloting process, as required by law. Our members will decide whether we are going to strike, a protected strike this time,” he said.
Their demands, like Samwu’s, includes salary benchmarking that would elevate all salary scales to grade 10 from 8.
Ngwenya said Matusa has been making this demand since 2021.
“In fact, when Samwu decided to engage in the unprotected strike, we already had a certificate that allows us to go on strike, but they decided to go solo without consulting Matusa.”
Other demands include the absorption by the city of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), as well as security and cleaners on a full-time basis, and organisational rights for the union.
Ngwenya said the idea of the strike was receiving support and the union would announce what their members voted for “in a few days”, but he could not provide a date.
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