LOUIS TRICHARDT – Striking SAMWU members' blatant disregard for law and order sparked wide-spread outrage among residents this week as the rampaging mob overturned rubbish bins in an effort to voice their disapproval regarding wage negotiations.

SAMWU's (South African Municipal Workers Union) strike follows failed wage negotiations between the parties to the South African Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC), namely SALGA, IMATU and SAMWU. Both IMATU and SALGA obtained a mandate from their members to accept a 3-year wage agreement of an 8% across-the-board wage increase for the 2002/3 financial year, followed by a Consumer Price Index (CPIX) plus 1% increase for the 2003/4 financial year and a CPIX plus 1,5% increase for the 2004/5 financial year. SAMWU, however, rejected this offer, demanding more money and indicated that they would embark on industrial action from 2 July.

"If SAMWU wanted to raise support for their cause through the strike, their actions definitely had the opposite effect. If it were up to me, I would fire the whole lot of them. There are thousands of unemployed people that are willing to work for much less than what they presently earn." These and others were but a few of the more radical uttered by irate residents as business owners, volunteers and even bank managers and their staff took to the streets to clean up SAMWU's mess themselves. Their efforts, however, proved fruitless as SAMWU members merely returned to empty rubbish bins once again, as was the case on Monday and Tuesday. As the strike enters its second week, tolerance is starting to wear thin and it is notcertain how long residents will have to endure the rubbish-strewn streets.

Apart from the collapse in basic service delivery, allegations of intimidation also surfaced this week. On Friday, an 81-year-old semi-invalid resident was almost knocked off his crutches when he was encircled by a group of toyi-toyiing SAMWU members in front of Council's offices. The group prevented him from entering the offices and he had to return home without paying his monthly account.

The Municipal Manager, Mr Reuben Rambado, on Tuesday expressed his utter disgust with regard to SAMWU members' actions. He strongly condemned the incidents of intimidation and said that residents should not be afraid and must lay charges against intimidators. He furthermore urged residents to make use of the deposit box at Council's offices to pay their monthly accounts and added that Council would allow for late payments, as "one must think rationally and be sensitive to residents' problems." He urged residents to come and pay.

Mr Rambado was also the brain behind Sunday's impressive clean-up operations. He said that on his return from China on Saturday, he was shocked to see how filthy the town looked. He, together with Mr Wilson Nkuna (Acting Municipal Manager), two officials (Messrs Reckson Mulaudzi and Philip Rambuda) and 24 volunteers, then took to the streets on Sunday and started cleaning up. The operations lasted twelve hours, from 06:00 until 18:00, during which time Mr Rambado himself swept roads and drove the garbage truck. Mr Rambado and his team of volunteers continued their cleaning operations on Tuesday. He said that his decision to clean up the rubbish was made in terms of the Batho Pele (People First) campaign, as well as Council's responsibility to deliver basic services, whether there is a strike or not.