protests
6 April 2006
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana has once again lashed out at the
violence that has characterised the private security guards strike in the past
few days.
The strike turned ugly when protestors attacked non-striking guards at
Beyers Naude Square in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
It followed similar acts of intimidation across the country over the past
few days.
Several people sustained rubber bullet wounds and at least one security
vehicle was set alight while protesters engaged in running battles with police
in Pretoria, after strikers delivered a memorandum of grievances to the
Department of Labour.
He said: âIt is quite disturbing to note that some people will not hesitate
to use violence to push their viewpoint despite all the dispute resolution
mechanisms at their disposal. Violence has no place and will only harden
attitudes and jeopardise any chances of a speedy solution to the dispute.â
âThe strikers should realise that violence can only serve to destroy their
own cause,â Minister said.
Minister Mdladlana once again urged employers and workers to return to
negotiations for an amicable solution to allow normality to return to the
sector.
Enquiries:
Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168
Issued by: Department of Labour
6 April 2006
