WATCH | Msunduzi strike shuts down A.S. Chetty building
One striking employee said the action was intended to pressure City management into addressing workers' demands.
Pietermaritzburg residents were left frustrated on Thursday morning after striking Msunduzi municipal employees blocked access to the A.S. Chetty building in Church Street, preventing members of the public from accessing essential municipal services.
The disruption is part of an ongoing industrial strike by municipal workers who are demanding that the City’s general assistants be upgraded from salary level T3 to T7.
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Protesting employees stationed outside the facility barred entry to residents and ratepayers, effectively bringing all municipal transactions and frontline services at the building to a standstill.
The strike action also spilled into surrounding areas, with Church Street leading up to City Hall left strewn with rubbish after bins were emptied onto the roadway. The forecourt and entrance to City Hall were similarly littered, adding to growing public anger over the deteriorating cleanliness of the CBD.
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One striking employee said the action was intended to intensify pressure on city management to respond to their demands.
“The employer is not taking us seriously, so this is our way of encouraging them to do so. We have families and dependants, yet we feel taken for granted,” he said.
“No ratepayer will be allowed to access the A.S. Chetty Building until we receive an undertaking from city management.”
The employee also criticised Msunduzi municipal manager Felakhe Mndebele for taking leave during the dispute, and said acting municipal manager Nelisiwe Ngcobo would also be held accountable for resolving the impasse.
While the blockade continued at the A.S. Chetty Building, South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) representatives were engaged in ongoing talks with city management at the City Hall in a bid to break the deadlock.
Residents, meanwhile, expressed frustration on social media, with the Northern Suburbs Residents Association raising concern over what they described as a lack of visible law enforcement during the disruptions.
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One resident, Akilah, said the situation unfairly penalised law-abiding citizens.
“It’s incredibly unfair on residents that these municipal workers are using our discomfort and the inconvenience they cause to leverage and propel their demands forward,” she wrote.
Although I understand the cost of living has increased, we are all in the same boat. It will be residents who are penalised for late payments, not the strikers.
She also questioned service delivery standards within the municipality, arguing that wage increases should be linked to performance and accountability.
However, later in the day, Msunduzi Municipality spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize said municipal buildings remained accessible, adding that members of the public could still access services and conduct transactions at facilities, including the A.S. Chetty Building.
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She said security personnel were deployed to monitor the situation and ensure the safety of staff, residents and municipal property.
Mkhize appealed for calm, urging all parties to conduct themselves peacefully while negotiations to resolve the wage dispute continue.
