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Municipal workers on strike

JOHANNESBURG "will make every effort to ensure that there will be minimal or no interruption to public services" caused by the municipal workers' strike that began today.

Members of the South African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) are on strike. The City is working with the South African Local Government Association (Salga) on its contingency plans to mitigate the effects of the national strike.

It emphasizes that all essential services employees are excluded from taking part in the strike.

According to a statement issued by Nthatisi Modingoane, Joburg's deputy director of communications, the City supports the constitutional right to engage in a strike in compliance with the Labour Relations Act.

However, he urges the union to ensure that its members "respect and uphold the rights of those [who] have elected not to strike and, in particular, those operating in essential services".

"In this regard, the City calls on the union leadership to ensure that Samwu members refrain from any act of intimidation or lawlessness while exercising their right to strike," he says.

In cases where service backlog problems are experienced, necessary arrangements will be made to catch up. Residents have been encouraged to report service problems to Joburg Connect on 011 375 5555.