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Johannesburg - Four Numsa members were injured when police shot them with rubber bullets during an engineering sector strike in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, the metalworkers' union claimed on Thursday.
The Steel and Engineering Industries' Federation of SA (Seifsa) in turn said pockets of strikers were moving from company to company to find and intimidate non-strikers, damaging property and trespassing.
The union's spokesperson Castro Ngobese said the four men were in hospital and a case had been opened at a local police station. He condemned the alleged shooting, during protests for higher wages.
Numsa calling on Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and national police commissioner Bheki Cele to take "drastic action" against the policemen.
On Wednesday Numsa claimed police intimidated, harassed, shot at and arrested strikers in Bellville, Cape Town and Germiston, Johannesburg.
Police were unable to confirm this.
Seifsa spokesperson Angelique Morton said: "It is regrettable that strikers find it necessary to use these bullying and illegal tactics to gain support for their strike."
Union leaders had remained silent in their condemnation of this behaviour. Seifsa had received "continuous" reports of violence and intimidation from employees, she said in a statement.
These included physical assaults, trespassing, malicious damage to company property, stone-throwing and breaking of company gates.
Numsa said these reports were an attempt by "some elements" to sabotage the industrial action.
"Numsa is not a union of hooligans. We have disciplined and organised members," Ngobese said.
Earlier, striking engineering workers gave their employers until the end of Thursday to respond to their wage demands. Ngobese said Numsa was considering calling on the Congress of SA Trade Unions to support the strike.
"We hope they will respond... our doors are always open."
He said no negotiations or talks had taken place since Monday, when several trade unions, representing about 170 000 workers, embarked on a countrywide strike.
Seifsa said it could not afford the 13% wage increase the union wanted. Employers in the sector have offered 7%.
Morton did not comment about the progress of negotiations in her statement. Several attempts to reach her and executive director David Carson were unsuccessful.
The Steel and Engineering Industries' Federation of SA (Seifsa) in turn said pockets of strikers were moving from company to company to find and intimidate non-strikers, damaging property and trespassing.
The union's spokesperson Castro Ngobese said the four men were in hospital and a case had been opened at a local police station. He condemned the alleged shooting, during protests for higher wages.
Numsa calling on Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and national police commissioner Bheki Cele to take "drastic action" against the policemen.
On Wednesday Numsa claimed police intimidated, harassed, shot at and arrested strikers in Bellville, Cape Town and Germiston, Johannesburg.
Police were unable to confirm this.
Seifsa spokesperson Angelique Morton said: "It is regrettable that strikers find it necessary to use these bullying and illegal tactics to gain support for their strike."
Union leaders had remained silent in their condemnation of this behaviour. Seifsa had received "continuous" reports of violence and intimidation from employees, she said in a statement.
These included physical assaults, trespassing, malicious damage to company property, stone-throwing and breaking of company gates.
Numsa said these reports were an attempt by "some elements" to sabotage the industrial action.
"Numsa is not a union of hooligans. We have disciplined and organised members," Ngobese said.
Earlier, striking engineering workers gave their employers until the end of Thursday to respond to their wage demands. Ngobese said Numsa was considering calling on the Congress of SA Trade Unions to support the strike.
"We hope they will respond... our doors are always open."
He said no negotiations or talks had taken place since Monday, when several trade unions, representing about 170 000 workers, embarked on a countrywide strike.
Seifsa said it could not afford the 13% wage increase the union wanted. Employers in the sector have offered 7%.
Morton did not comment about the progress of negotiations in her statement. Several attempts to reach her and executive director David Carson were unsuccessful.
