A group of City of Tshwane workers, including those previously dismissed for participating in a violent march, gathered outside Tshwane House to protest despite their picketing being declared illegal. 

The workers demanded the payment of an outstanding 3.5% salary increase for the 2021/22 period and the reinstatement of the dismissed workers.

Abel Tau, secretary of the Gauteng provincial structure of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, backed the protesters, stating that the workers’ struggles boil down to being overburdened. 

“While we understand that the metro is going through a difficult period and that it doesn’t have money because the revenue collection is difficult, they must also understand that if it is difficult to collect from the residents, how much more are their employees affected?” he said.

Salvation Zoro, one of the protesters, said workers were frustrated due to the city’s delay in implementing the 3.5% salary increase, as agreed upon in the 2021 collective wage agreement. 

“We have been trying to be calm as workers. I am working, but I am feeling the same pain as the people who were dismissed. We are not fighting. We just want the city to address our concerns,” he said.

Protester Kgopa Tshepo expressed disappointment that no one was available to receive their memorandum, as they were informed that their picket was deemed illegal. 

“We are unhappy, but we are going to go back and regroup,” he said. 

Tshepo added that workers have been frustrated by the lack of salary increases for years, forcing some to rely on loan sharks almost monthly to supplement their inadequate salaries.

The protest comes after the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) was forced to call off its planned march last week after City Manager Johann Mettler indicated that no request or approval was granted by the city to its employees to participate in a march. 

Samwu wanted to demand Mettler’s removal from office and the implementation of outstanding salary increases.

Mettler reminded Samwu of a final court interdict granted by the Labour Court on September 18, 2023, restricting the union from embarking on any unlawful protest action.

The failed march followed the breakdown of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA)-facilitated talks between the labour unions and the city on June 10 and 23, 2025, without an agreement over the outstanding 3.5% wage increase for the 2021/22 period.

The discussions came after a May 9 Labour Court ruling, which remitted the matter back to the South African Local Government Bargaining Council for a fresh hearing on the 3.5% wage increase, following the city’s initial bid for exemption. 

Simultaneously, the court ruled in favor of the city, exempting it from implementing a 5.4% wage increase for the 2023/24 financial year due to cited financial constraints.

The union has lodged a formal appeal against the ruling on the 5.4% salary increase and is currently awaiting a hearing date from the Labour Appeal Court.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za

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