SAMWU strike: Why workers are marching despite ‘threats’
PRETORIA — The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) has launched a stinging attack on the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) in Gauteng, accusing the body of attempting to intimidate its members ahead of today’s National Day of Action.
The dispute follows the issuance of a provincial circular by SALGA Gauteng which sought to discourage municipal workers from participating in planned protest marches. SAMWU leadership described the communication as a reckless attempt to suppress legitimate worker mobilisation and shield the National Treasury from public opposition.
According to SAMWU, the national office of SALGA has distanced itself from the provincial circular, indicating that the move was neither authorised nor sanctioned by the national body. The union maintains that it provided formal notice of the planned action well in advance, with the intention of delivering a memorandum to the President of SALGA.
The union’s National Day of Action is primarily focused on rejected austerity measures and the National Treasury’s decision to withhold equitable share allocations from several municipalities. SAMWU contends that these financial decisions threaten worker salaries, pension contributions, and medical aid deductions, while simultaneously crippling the delivery of basic services like water, refuse collection, and electricity.
The union argues that the crisis within local government is a direct result of chronic underfunding, budget cuts, and political instability. By targeting SALGA’s attempt to demobilise workers, the union intends to highlight what it calls the systematic erosion of public services and the weakening of collective bargaining rights.
This protest highlights a growing rift between organised labour and state institutions as municipalities across South Africa face the brink of financial collapse. The implications of this standoff extend beyond the workforce, as the continued withholding of funds threatens the very infrastructure that sustains local communities.
Marchers are expected to deliver memoranda to several high level offices today, including the National Treasury, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and the Office of the Premier of Gauteng.
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