SAMWU PRESS STATEMENT

Cape Town 31 July 2009

There has been much press confusion about our silence on a potential agreement that might have been reached on Thursday 30 July 2009.

It is important to clarify that we cannot enter into any agreement without proper consultation with our members, and without receiving a mandate from our members to settle. Until we have that mandate, we cannot sign an agreement.

SAMWU PRESS STATEMENT

Cape Town 30 July 2009

While there has been much coverage of trashing in the media, and calls to arrest those involved, there has been little coverage of the unnecessary and provocative action taken by the police against lawful strikers.

We understand that trashing can seem counterproductive. However, we do understand it as the desperation of workers who feel neglected and voiceless and as action that is aimed at driving home to the public what the streets would look like without municipal workers. There continues to be a conflation between trashing, which involves emptying a few rubbish bins, and violence, which, in this strike, has involved mainly police action against strikers, and little or no violence on the part of strikers.

SAMWU PRESS STATEMENT

JOHANNESBURG 30 July 2009

A Special National Executive Committee of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) held on the 29th July 2009, that ended late last night, received reports from all of our nine Provinces regarding the revised wage proposal.

The reports noted the following:

• The enthusiastic response of our members means that we enter today’s negotiations with the active support of our members.
 
• That despite negative publicity, we are enjoying unprecedented support of especially poor communities, our federation, Cosatu, and international organisations.

• We are alarmed at the actions of the police in several municipalities who continue to use excessive force, rubber bullets, arbitrary arrests and manipulation of the legal process in an attempt to disrupt workers’ legitimate and legal right to strike. These actions will be strongly taken up with the relevant authorities.

SAMWU PRESS STATEMENT

Cape Town 28 July 2009: 2pm

 SALGA and other commentators have been attempting to undermine the legitimate wage demands of our members by stating that the costs of meeting these demands will be passed on to the ratepayers in the form of double-digit service and rates increases.

SAMWU PRESS STATEMENT

Cape Town 29 July 2009: 12pm

SAMWU has noted press coverage on trashing and the comments of well known media commentators such as Tim Modise, and others who have used terms like ‘mayhem’ to describe the situation in municipalities where rubbish has been spilled onto the streets.

SAMWU Press Statement

Cape Town 28 July 2009

The municipal workers’ strike that started yesterday, and is continuing today, Tuesday 28 July, is being strongly supported by workers from both SAMWU and IMATU. On the whole, the action of workers has been peaceful and conducted in good spirits. We have had reports of a few isolated incidents of violence, but this seems to have largely been instigated by an unnecessarily heavy handed approach from the police.