City strike standstill

No trains and buses, minimal municipal services and bags of rubbish piling up on city streets.

That is what South Africans are facing next week, if strike threats by six trade unions materialise.

The petroleum industry could also be affected if members of the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers' Union join the strike.

"There is no way the strike on Monday can be averted," said SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) general secretary Mthandeki Nhlapho.

At least 150 000 municipal workers will stop work from Monday in a bid to get better pay. Samwu and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union have both rejected an 11,5 percent wage increase.

There was no guarantee that Durban's essential services such as water and sanitation, health and electricity would not be affected, said Jaycee Ncanana, Samwu secretary in KwaZulu-Natal, on Friday.

Other essential services include metro police, refuse removal and emergency medical personnel.

"We have been asking the eThekwini Municipality to sign minimum essential services agreement for a long time and it has been avoiding us," said Ncanana.

He said services classified as essential such agreements well before the start of a strike to ensure that a certain number of people continued to work.

"Our doors are still open. If the municipality decides it is ready to talk, we will talk," he said.

City manager Mike Sutcliffe said employees working in units classified as essential services were legally required to work during the strike.

Those who illegally embarked on strike action would be subjected to disciplinary action. He promised that essential services would not be affected.

"The eThekwini Municipality has put in place contingency plans to ensure there is minimal disruption to services during the strike," he said.

He said a "no work no pay" policy would be applied.

However, Fiona Gounden reports Durban's new bus company hopes to be up and running by next week but former Remant Alton drivers have been warned not to be "fooled" into settling for an unfair offer.

Tansnat Africa announced earlier in the week that they had hoped to have 100 buses running by Monday to cater for school children. They also claimed that drivers who wanted to work were being intimidated.

Zack Mankge of the Transport and Allied Workers Union of South Africa said: "The new company is willing to hire 500 of the drivers that lost their jobs. However, they will receive only half the salary they used to earn. Drivers have been warned not to make any hasty decisions.

"Although they have been given the new contracts we have told them not to sign."

Meanwhile, the SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union said it would make a "last ditch effort" to prevent a strike among Metrorail workers.

The union and the United Transport and Allied Trade Union have rejected a 7 percent wage increase.

The two unions, representing 10 000 workers, plan to down tools on Monday, which could leave 1,5 million commuters stranded.

Elsewhere, the Communication Workers Union decided on Friday afternoon that picketing would take place next week against Telkom and the SABC.

General secretary Gallant Roberts said the action could culminate in work stoppages in August. The union is unhappy over wages, the threat of job losses and poor administration.

And members of the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers' Union are still to decide if their strike will continue next week.

The union is in the process of briefing its pharmaceutical workers on a new offer by employers. Talks in the chemicals sector were continuing on Friday afternoon.

The union said members from the petroleum industry would join the strike next week. - Sapa

• This article was originally published on page 1 of The Independent on Saturday on July 25, 2009