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Johannesburg - About 500 members of the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) had not returned to work following a strike in protest against seven of their shop stewards being fired last month, the Ekurhuleni Municipality said on Wednesday.
"These workers are mostly from the parks and solid waste division ... but even the solid waste removal is going ahead without them," said municipality spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.
"People are slowly coming back to work. There are however no negotiations taking place," he said.
About 22 Samwu strikers were arrested in Kempton Park on Monday for offences ranging from public violence to intimidation and assault.
They were among a group of about 100 strikers who allegedly intimidated non-striking employees, damaged the Kempton Park Civic Centre and assaulted a person on Monday morning.
Previous strikes took place in Pretoria and Johannesburg.
The areas of Edenvale, Kempton Park, Springs and Nigel were worst affected by the strikes, with many left without basic municipal services.
Dlamini said the municipality was ready to mediate with the union at any time.
"Maybe in the next week or so we may not have a strike. Even if it continues, we will we continue to offer services." he said.
"We already hired private contractors for refuse removal last week Wednesday ... it's a temporary measure until things are back to normal," Dlamini said.
In parliament on Tuesday the Democratic Alliance raised the issue of a refuse crisis in the metro, said party spokesperson for health Mike Waters.
He said the municipality resembled a war zone, with the CBD trashed and refuse uncollected, accumulating on various pavements.
Samwu workers in the municipality began strikes after the dismissal of seven shop stewards at the beginning of February.
Last year, the stewards stormed a council meeting and it had to be postponed.
They were charged with gross insubordination and appeared at a disciplinary hearing on February 11.
At the hearing, they allegedly assaulted various municipal employees, which led to their immediate dismissal.
On February 25, the municipality was granted a court order preventing Samwu members from disrupting daily operations, intimidating others and damaging property.
Samwu spokesperson Tahir Sema was not immediately available for comment.
"These workers are mostly from the parks and solid waste division ... but even the solid waste removal is going ahead without them," said municipality spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.
"People are slowly coming back to work. There are however no negotiations taking place," he said.
About 22 Samwu strikers were arrested in Kempton Park on Monday for offences ranging from public violence to intimidation and assault.
They were among a group of about 100 strikers who allegedly intimidated non-striking employees, damaged the Kempton Park Civic Centre and assaulted a person on Monday morning.
Previous strikes took place in Pretoria and Johannesburg.
The areas of Edenvale, Kempton Park, Springs and Nigel were worst affected by the strikes, with many left without basic municipal services.
Dlamini said the municipality was ready to mediate with the union at any time.
"Maybe in the next week or so we may not have a strike. Even if it continues, we will we continue to offer services." he said.
"We already hired private contractors for refuse removal last week Wednesday ... it's a temporary measure until things are back to normal," Dlamini said.
In parliament on Tuesday the Democratic Alliance raised the issue of a refuse crisis in the metro, said party spokesperson for health Mike Waters.
He said the municipality resembled a war zone, with the CBD trashed and refuse uncollected, accumulating on various pavements.
Samwu workers in the municipality began strikes after the dismissal of seven shop stewards at the beginning of February.
Last year, the stewards stormed a council meeting and it had to be postponed.
They were charged with gross insubordination and appeared at a disciplinary hearing on February 11.
At the hearing, they allegedly assaulted various municipal employees, which led to their immediate dismissal.
On February 25, the municipality was granted a court order preventing Samwu members from disrupting daily operations, intimidating others and damaging property.
Samwu spokesperson Tahir Sema was not immediately available for comment.
