Pickitup strike turns violent in South Africa. A new wave of strike action is emerging during July 2013., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Jul 10 2013 10:10PM
Pikitup strike turns ugly
Strike action by Pikitup employees in Gauteng has turned violent, the company said
Rudolph Nkgadima
New Age, South Africa
Strike action by Pikitup employees in Gauteng has turned violent, the company said on Wednesday.
At some of its depots, employees on strike were intimidating those who were not part of the action. Strikers have also tried to stop the company trucks from leaving the depot.
“For the safety of our employees, including those on strike, we have enlisted the assistance of the South African Police Service, Johannesburg Metro Police and a private security company, to help monitor the situation”, company spokesperson Desiree Ntshingila said.
“Management is in discussions with the union to resolve the situation we all find ourselves in.”
The labour action followed various measures introduced by the management, including the introduction of a biometrics system (union wants to sign a register to confirm work attendance), the suspension of working half days on pay day, and the transportation of employees to and from work using company resources.
In May, the Labour court ruled against free transport and half-day work on pay day. The court also ruled that the Samwu-affiliated members could not strike on those two issues. Furthermore, the court found that the discontinuation of this practice did not amount to unilateral change of the terms and conditions of employment.
“A contingency team has been collecting refuse across all our depots throughout the weekend and will continue to do so every day until waste collection has been normalised across the city,” Ntshingila said.
She confirmed that not all refuse was collected over the weekend.
“We would like to appeal to residents and business to leave their bins outside as our contingency teams will be making rounds to collect the refuse. It is important to also note that we will not be forced into negotiating under duress, as all matters over which the employees are striking not form part of their employment conditions,” Ntshingila said.
More information and updates will be provided regarding the collection of refuse at other depots and the areas to be serviced.
“Pikitup would once again like to take this opportunity to apologise to all residents and businesses for the inconvenience,” Ntshingila said.
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