Pretoria - The City of Tshwane on Tuesday said it has begun sending letters terminating the jobs of striking employees.
In a statement, Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams said the workers have been involved in the unlawful and unprotected strike since March 15.
“Today approximately 19 employees based at the Mayville Depot were issued with letters of intention to terminate their services for their continued involvement in the strike,” read the statement.
“The employees are represented by the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu). They have until Thursday, March 24 to provide written reasons why their services should not be terminated.
“The City will thereafter take a decision on whether to terminate their services or not,” Williams said.
He said most of its employees were committed to their work and to serving the residents.
“They are willing to place their lives at risk in the face of intimidation, threats or even physical violence against their lives,” he said.
Williams said a municipal employee, Benjamin Dube, was in hospital after being attacked over the weekend when responding to power outages in Soshanguve.
“Our thoughts are with him and his family as he recovers.
“We will not allow the work of the city to be derailed by small groups of individuals who seek to prevent their fellow colleagues from carrying out their duties,” he said.
Meanwhile, Samwu has distanced itself from the strike, saying it has not called for a strike in the City of Tshwane, as yet.
“The union is not led by amateurs who do not know the procedure to be followed when embarking on a strike action. When the time comes for us to call for a strike, given the decision by the City to deny workers their salary and wage increases, we shall do so following the correct procedures,” Samwu said.
IOL