Protesting South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) members overturned rubbish bins and left a trail of waste through Pietermaritzburg’s city centre yesterday as they marched to City Hall to hand over a list of workplace grievances to Msunduzi Municipality. Photo: MOEKETSI MAMANE
The Samwu strike in Msunduzi will enter its second day on Wednesday, with the union maintaining pressure on the municipality to address outstanding workplace grievances.
The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) had previously suspended its protected strike action in June, saying it was demonstrating restraint and goodwill to allow uninterrupted engagement between the employer and employee representatives.
ALSO READ | Samwu pauses Msunduzi strike action over pay talks
However, the union returned to the streets on Tuesday, with members marching from Dales’ Park to the City Hall to deliver a memorandum outlining their demands.
The march left parts of the city centre strewn with rubbish after protesters overturned bins along the route and at the City Hall precinct.
While some workers chanted slogans and sang, others continued overturning bins as they waited for municipal officials.
Samwu local chairperson Brandon George said the union had not intended to disrupt municipal services but had been left with no alternative.
ALSO READ | Samwu threatens strike unless ultimatum is met
“Our citizens are suffering and not receiving adequate service delivery. We too, as staff members of Msunduzi, are having our own internal issues and therefore we would like to even welcome those that are in solidarity with us, even community members, to us so that we can achieve what we can to restore services to our communities,” George told The Witness on the sidelines of the march.
He said the union had repeatedly attempted to resolve its concerns with municipal management.
We don’t have a proper employment structure in place in this municipality. We have no proper job descriptions, and our members are not compensated when they work overtime. We have been trying for so long to have these issues resolved, but the management does not come to the party.
Central to the memorandum of demands the union intended to hand over to city management on Tuesday was a salary-grading dispute involving general assistants, whom Samwu wants moved from grade T3 to T7.
ALSO READ | Samwu warns of strike action amid unresolved Msunduzi labour issues
“The management must stop playing hide and seek, and the municipality must stop negotiating in bad faith.
“There must be a clear resolution, decision and unequivocal position from council for the complete implementation of the job evaluation process via an independent third party (Deloitte), ensuring a unified job description and clear progression path to Task Level 7 for general assistants.
“The 2023 structure and job description for the entire municipality must be completed,” reads the memorandum.
Samwu is also demanding clarity on the absorption of interns, contract workers and EPWP participants into vacant funded posts.
ALSO READ | Samwu threatens to strike to get higher pay increase
The union wants the council to adopt a resolution setting out clear implementation criteria and timeframes.
Another demand is the deactivation and suspension of biometric systems and cameras installed in municipal vehicles until the matter has been discussed at the local labour forum.
The union was unable to hand over its memorandum because city manager Felani Mndebele was not available to receive it.
Union local secretary Xolani Ntshangase confirmed that the strike would continue on Wednesday.
Msunduzi Municipality said essential services were continuing despite the strike, although residents should expect some delays.
ALSO READ | Samwu members start to clean up rubbish left in city by strike
“Teams are currently attending to service delivery matters, including waste collection and reported service faults,” the municipality said.
It acknowledged that litter and waste had accumulated in parts of the CBD and said arrangements were being made to clean the affected areas.
The municipality said it was also engaging organised labour in an effort to resolve the dispute.
“While the municipality respects employees’ right to raise workplace grievances through appropriate processes, service delivery to residents remains a priority,” the municpality said.
Source: https://witness.co.za/news/2026/08/19/samwu-keeps-pressure-on-msunduzi-as-strike-continues/