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Cape Town – The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) planned strike against City Power in Johannesburg on Monday will not be legally protected.
However, its dispute with City Power could be the least of Samwu's worries, after BDLive reported that the Hawks stormed its central executive meeting on Tuesday afternoon and arrested three members.
"We don’t have clarity ... they (the police) are not giving us clarity," Samwu president Pule Molalenyane told BDLive, adding that the experience had been traumatic.
Meanwhile, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CMMA) declined to issue Samwu a strike certificate, according to City Power in a statement on Wednesday.
“The CCMA has dismissed Samwu’s dispute referral, which effectively strips the planned strike action of any legal protection.”
Samwu told the City of Johannesburg’s power utility that it would go on a full-blown strike on Monday October 19, resulting in “a total blackout of Johannesburg and all its suburbs”.
The union said City Power failed to address issues relating to corruption levelled against its managing director, Sicelo Xulu.
City Power invited Samwu to substantiate the allegations, but the union is yet to provide any substantiation for the allegations, said the utility.
“It is City Power’s view that any strike action related to this matter will therefore be unlawful and unprotected,” it said.
“City Power will take necessary action, including but not limited to, disciplinary action against those employees who participate in an unprotected and unlawful strike.”
Frank Chikane, chairperson of the City Power Board, assured ratepayers that City Power has put contingency measures in place to ensure a reliable supply of electricity in the unlikely event that the strike goes ahead.
