SAMWU STRIKE LEADER ‘ACTIVATES THE THUGS’
Councillors escorted out of city hall by heavily armed police
Samwu strikers rattled the doors outside a Buffalo City Metro special council meeting, causing panic inside.
And soon after, a union leader told the strikers they were calling in their thugs. “We will now activate amaphara [thugs],” shouted BCM Samwu campaigns convener Zola Capucapu to about 300 strikers outside the city hall on Tuesday.
Earlier there had been intimidation and threats from angry striking Samwu municipal workers, but the BCM leaders put their heads down and carried on with business as usual at Tuesday’s special council meeting.
One of the issues meant to be discussed was the ongoing illegal strike. However, the item was shelved.
Hundreds of Samwu strikers tried to break into the city hall in an attempt to disrupt the meeting.
Their rowdy action came after it was learned that their demand for a R100,000 “apology” payout for each worker this month was not on the agenda.
The attempt by strikers to barge in happened when the councillors had started voting following the nominations of ANC councillor Mawethu Marata and DA councillor Darmesh Dhaya to fill the vacant position of council chief whip.
Marata won with 49 votes to Dhaya’s 23.
When the strikers rattled and banged on the door, puzzledlooking heads of departments seated next to the door jumped from their chairs, looking scared for their lives.
Council speaker Alfred Mtsi and city manager Andile Sihlahla urged panicking councillors to sit down while security guards ran to the door and pushed back.
Eventually the strikers moved away.
Following the successful election of Marata as council chief whip, BCM mayor Xola Pakati announced changes to his mayoral committee.
Councillor Ncedo Kumbaca was replaced last week by former corporate services portfolio head Sindile Toni.
A new member to the committee, Bongiwe Sauli, replaces Toni while former chief whip Mzwandile Vaaiboom replaces Marata as portfolio head of local economic development and agencies.
Nontsikelelo Peter has been moved from finance to community services and councillor Helen Neale-May has moved to the finance department.
Sihlahla later told the councillors that BCM was faced with a “very violent strike”.
He said a detailed report concerning the strike action would be tabled in next week’s council meeting.
“We would like to apologise to our residents.
“We never expected this to happen.
“Management is taking serious action to address the issue of service delivery,” he said.
When the meeting ended the workers blocked councillors and metro bosses from leaving the premises until heavily armed police arrived to escort them.
Addressing the workers, Capucapu said a general meeting would be organised for Wednesday to forge a way forward. “We will now activate
amaphara [thugs].
“All of us must meet here tomorrow morning, the region is busy organising for the meeting to take place tomorrow.
“Please can you all come here tomorrow morning and stop going to work, forcing us to fetch you from your work stations,” Capucapu said to applause.
Samwu regional secretary Zolani Ndlela said the union had been granted a certificate to officially go on strike by the SA Bargaining Council.
“We have the certificate in front of us and that means that our issue is valid.
“If it was invalid we would not have received the certificate. We will send a letter to the employer to notify them we will be embarking on strike action on Friday,” Ndlela said.
We never expected this to happen