‘Fight until last drop of blood’

A REPRESENTATIVE of protesting Cape Town MyCiTi bus employees says they are ready to “fight until the last drop of the blood”.

“I won’t mind dying for my children’s future, because the business was meant to help people and it’s not. That is what we are fighting for and we will fight until the last drop of the blood,” said Thandikhaya Chizama.

Chaos broke out at the Cape Town Civic Centre yesterday as police fired stun grenades to disperse about 200 protesting employees who embarked on an illegal strike in October.

Chizama said they were angry because their demands were not being accepted. He said workers’ representatives had submitted their list of demands to mayor Dan Plato, who accepted and signed the memorandum on November 15.

Employees demand, among other things, to be employed by the municipality, improvement of working conditions and equal salaries for all drivers.

The MyCiTi bus operators are hired by Vehicle Operating Companies (VOC), which they want changed.

“We demand that drivers are paid equally. Drivers are not paid the same, for example N2 Express are earning higher whereas the other VOCs are working longer in this project.

“Some companies have medical aid where others don’t have any,” the list of demands read.

Chizama said workers were willing to work but on condition their demands were met, and they were not going to back off until their employer comes to address the issue.

According to mayoral committee member for transport and urban development Felicity Purchase, five buses have been burnt out in petrol bomb attacks since October 15 and another four were damaged in foiled arson attempts. |