TSHWANE - The Tshwane Municipality said the ongoing worker strike cost the municipality millions in damages.
This included damage to its buildings, the torching of municipal vehicles, and other infrastructure damage. For the past three months, workers affiliated with the South African Municipal Workers' Union have been engaged in a labour dispute with the city over the council's decision not to affect salary and wage increases this financial year.Tshwane MMC for Community Safety Grandi Theunissen said there were many other related costs to the strike, such as paying overtime to metropolitan police officers to escort workers to job sites.
“A lot of the work being done at night and that also places an extra burden because that is when crime is at its height and that takes our people away from crime prevention because we have to provide security to working teams."