Samwu prepares for legal action over Ekurhuleni police protest

The SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) is preparing to mount a legal challenge after Ekurhuleni issued pre-dismissal letters to almost 400 of the metro’s police officers who recently embarked on an illegal stoppage over pay.

Samwu is the biggest union in the local government sector, representing 160,000 of the country’s estimated 350,000 municipal workers.

The metro said in a statement it had started disciplinary measures against 389 Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) officers for their participation in an illegal strike and blockade of highways on March 19.

“The affected EMPD officers face pre-dismissal processes due to severe misconduct, including the illegal blockade of the R21, N12, N17, and N3 highways, the metro said.

“This unlawful action significantly disrupted traffic flow, severely inconvenienced thousands of commuters, and hindered access to the O.R. Tambo International Airport, a designated national key point, impacting flight schedules and broader regional connectivity.

“As EMPD officers, these individuals are classified under essential services, mandated to uphold public safety and order,” it added.

“Their participation in prohibited strike action constitutes gross misconduct, undermining public trust and violating labour laws as stipulated in the Labour Relations Act. All implicated officers ... are suspended from duty pending the outcome of their disciplinary hearings.

The city is collaborating with the SA Police Service to ensure continued policing services, as outlined in the memorandum of understanding signed between the city and the minister of police.”

Samwu Ekurhuleni regional secretary Tshephang Langa said: “We have received those pre-dismissal letters. We have subjected the matter to the union's legal division. Equally, we have written to the city to request 72 hours instead of the 48 hours they gave us to respond.”

He said the union, an affiliate of Cosatu, would exhaust all internal avenues, including a regional shop steward council meeting to deal with the matter and “get a mandate from the ground regarding what our posture should be”.

The EMPD protest came two weeks after Samwu expressed displeasure over Ekurhuleni’s decision to cut overtime pay for its 16,000-strong workforce by 50%. 

The metro, which is struggling financially, said its decision was part of a revenue enhancement strategy. Ekurhuleni finance MMC Jongizizwe Dlabathi has criticised the “culture of overtime” in the municipality. 

“In quarter one, roughly R216m was spent on overtime ... Projections for the entire year are that we would have spent about R1bn,” Dlabathi said at the time. 

mkentanel@businesslive.co.za