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SAMWU dares Brink to name and shame official implicated in torching of trucks

todayOctober 13, 2023 71

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The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) is accusing the Tshwane Executive Mayor, Cillier Brink, of pitting striking municipal workers against the communities they serve.

Yesterday, Brink told journalists that the city has video footage directly implicating a top SAMWU official in the petrol bombing of municipal trucks across the city.

Brink was providing an update on the ongoing workers strike in the capital.

The executive mayor says ongoing municipal workers’ wage strike should be treated as organised crime, not as a labour dispute.

So far, eight vehicles have been torched in the escalating violence, with workers not backing down in their calls for salary increases.

Mayor Brink has urged police officials to treat the actions of the striking workers as a criminal offense against the state.

The union has urged the executive mayor to name and shame the SAMWU official he claims was involved in the petrol bombing.

SAMWU has also rejected the executive mayor’s allegations as an attempt to deflect the public’s attention.

Speaking to YNews, SAMWU Tshwane Chairperson, Nkhetheni Muthavhi, cautioned the mayor against painting the legitimate plight of workers for wage hikes as criminal activity.

City Manager, Johann Mettler, on the other hand says the three-month long wage dispute has so far cost the municipality tens of millions in rands they hadn’t budgeted for. Article by Naomi Kobbie

Written by: Lindiwe Mabena

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