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Buffalo City must hold staff involved in illegal strike responsible for damages

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Dear MyPE

The DA condemns in the strongest possible terms the current strike action taking place throughout Buffalo City Metro Municipality (BCMM).

This illegal strike has been accompanied by the destruction of property, setting of fires and disruption and intimidation of work sites, including clinics.

Employees have the right to peaceful protest, but no stretch of the imagination would consider what is taking place across the municipality as peaceful.

This behaviour is strongly reminiscent of the violent three-week long strike of 2018, which saw service delivery in Buffalo City come to a grinding halt and cannot be allowed to reach the same proportions.

The Municipality is in the process of getting an interdict to stop the illegal strike and has apologised to residents for the interruptions in service delivery. It cannot stop there though. The municipality must take action against all staff involved.

Those responsible must face disciplinary action and must pay for the damages caused. It is time a message is sent that the rule of law must be respected. If there are no direct consequences for poor behaviour, it will continue.

Workers are demanding a Covid-19 danger pay allowance of R15 000 each, which the municipality can ill afford. BCM simply does not have the money, it is buckling under low revenue collection made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic and a shambolic billing system.

SAMWU needs to take responsibility for the actions of their members and must sit around a table with the executive, instead of resorting to destruction of property. They cannot absolve themselves of blame in this matter and put the blame on unknown elements. This is purely an exercise in intimidation.

In the midst of a pandemic, where many have lost their jobs or have taken pay cuts in the private sector, the actions of those protesting are utterly shameful.

The DA will bring an exigency notice of motion before Council at its meeting next week to discuss the impact of this protest to find ways to resolve it and gain a commitment that those responsible are held liable for the damages sustained.

Regards

Cllr Geoff Walton/Cllr Annette Rademeyer
DA Buffalo City Metro Caucus

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