The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Eastern Cape expresses its deep concern and outrage at the continued victimisation, intimidation and systematic targeting of SAMWU shop stewards by the management of Amatola Water Board.
Since 26 March 2025, workers at Amatola Water Board have effectively been left without elected union representation after all ten SAMWU shop stewards were suspended by the employer on allegations linked to an alleged illegal strike action. This unprecedented action immediately raised serious concerns about the employer’s intentions towards organised labour, workplace democracy and collective bargaining within the institution.
Compounding this situation, the entity has failed to conclude plant-level negotiations for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years, as directed by the Amanzi Bargaining Council. This failure has deprived workers of meaningful engagement on matters affecting their wages, conditions of service and workplace rights.
The matter relating to the alleged illegal strike was subsequently brought before the Labour Court in October 2025, wherein the Court ruled in favour of the affected employees. Despite this outcome, Amatola Water management disregarded both the spirit and implications of the Court’s ruling and proceeded to convert the precautionary suspensions into punitive suspensions without pay. This decision subjected workers and their families to severe financial and emotional hardship.
In March 2026, the disciplinary enquiry against the ten shop stewards was concluded. Five shop stewards, including the SAMWU Regional Chairperson and other Local Office Bearers, were dismissed, while the remaining five were found not guilty. SAMWU views these dismissals as a calculated and deliberate attempt to weaken, destabilise and ultimately destroy the union’s organisational presence within Amatola Water, particularly by targeting its elected leadership structures.
As SAMWU, we exercised our organisational and legal rights by noting appeals against the dismissals of the five affected shop stewards. However, while the union was still studying the outcomes and preparing the appeal process, Amatola Water management, through its Legal Advisory division, took the extraordinary and highly irregular step of lodging what it termed a “cross-appeal” against the findings relating to the five shop stewards who were not dismissed.
This so-called “cross-appeal” raises serious legal, procedural and labour relations concerns. In ordinary labour relations practice, where an employer is dissatisfied with the outcome of a disciplinary process conducted by its own appointed chairperson, such an employer would, where legally permissible and properly justified, pursue a review process through the appropriate legal forums. The attempt to appeal against the findings of its own disciplinary chairperson exposes an alarming determination by Amatola Water management to ensure that all SAMWU shop stewards are dismissed, regardless of the merits of the case.
SAMWU views this conduct for what it is, a deliberate campaign of union bashing, intimidation and de-unionisation. It is deeply troubling that an institution entrusted with public service delivery would dedicate time, energy and public resources towards attacking worker representation instead of fostering labour peace, institutional stability and constructive engagement with organised labour. For us, this is an attempt by management to rule through fear.
The current situation has created a dangerous vacuum in the workplace. Workers at Amatola Water Board presently have no effective elected representation in workplace grievances, wage negotiations, recruitment processes, disciplinary matters and other collective bargaining forums where organised labour participation is both necessary and protected by labour legislation.
The consequences of these actions have been devastating for employees. Workers report feeling demoralised, intimidated and abandoned in the workplace. This climate of fear and uncertainty inevitably affects morale, productivity and, ultimately, the quality of service delivery to the people of the Eastern Cape.
SAMWU wishes to make it unequivocally clear that we will not fold our arms while worker representation is being systematically destroyed at Amatola Water. We will continue to defend the rights, dignity and livelihoods of our members through all available legal, organisational and constitutional avenues.
We call upon the Board of Amatola Water, the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Amanzi Bargaining Council, organised labour formations and all progressive forces to condemn these actions and urgently intervene before labour relations at Amatola Water deteriorate even further.
SAMWU further reiterates that workers have a constitutional right to freedom of association, collective bargaining and union representation without fear of victimisation, intimidation or retaliation. Any attempt to undermine these rights must be rejected with the contempt it deserves.
SAMWU Eastern Cape will continue to stand with the affected shop stewards, their families and all workers at Amatola Water Board.
An injury to one remains an injury to all.
Issued by SAMWU Eastern Cape Province
Asamkele Ntaka
Provincial Secretary
(071 366 3644)
or
Lorna Lubedu
Deputy Provincial Secretary
(071 900 5014)