The City of Tshwane has given 19 employees notices of the intention to terminate employment following continued disruptions of electricity supply in several parts of Pretoria.
The disruptions have been attributed to an unprotected strike by municipal workers represented by the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU).
The Tshwane Metro has now given the identified workers until Thursday to give reasons why their services should not be terminated.
City spokesperson Selby Bokaba says the employees have failed to heed management’s call for them to go back to work.
“This is because they’re involved in unlawful and unprotected strike and we’ve given them ultimatums previously informing them that they need to suspend the strike and return to work and they’ve ignored our pleas. And these guys, every day they make sure that they blockade the gates of the depot, and that depot services a number of regions where officials have to go and get vehicles to go out and attend to service interruptions, but they’re unable to do so because of these officials that have been preventing them.”
More details of the notices in the tweet below:
As the City continues to face some service disruptions due to the illegal strike, we have now begun issuing notices of intention to terminate employment of workers who have been involved in the unlawful and unprotected strike since 15 March. @CityTshwane pic.twitter.com/b7PiBQ2MyU
— Mayor Randall Williams (@tshwane_mayor) March 22, 2022
SAMWU denies intimidating contractors
Meanwhile, SAMWU has since denied claims that union members were intimidating other workers at the City of Tshwane.
The union’s Tshwane Regional Chair Nkhetheni Muthavhi speaks to SABC News about the strike:
