Business leaders in eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal view the unprotected and unlawful strike of municipal workers as politically motivated and a deliberate attempt to undermine and discredit the public-private partnerships between city management, provincial leadership, and private business.
According to Kaunda, 81 city employees are on precautionary suspension for misconduct, 1 891 have been given notices, and 88 have been dismissed. “But there have been costs for businesses which must pay for extra security to keep workers and operations safe, extra resources to clean up and cope with water shortages.” said Kiepiela.For the past two weeks several photos have been circulating on social media, showing piles of uncollected rubbish strewn in the streets of suburbs and roads barricaded by burning tyres. ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW “There’s a continuous hammering of eThekwini’s image with bad publicity.
It said the plan must include the clean-up of dirty streets, the guaranteed supply of water and electricity, and safety and security concerns need to be addressed. “If not, the problem will keep rearing its head. Part of the problem is that local authorities are able to make decisions about the ‘micro-elements’ of labour conditions around pay and benefits.”“It’s so easy for striking workers to bring an entire city system to its knees. The fact that eThekwini can’t maintain its water pumps during a strike about waste collection … we can’t have these incidents happening.