The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Co-operative Governance (COGTA) has condemned the unprotected/illegal strike by employees of Mtubatuba local municipality which is compromising service delivery to ratepayers and all other residents.
“While we respect the constitutional right of workers to resort to strike action, we cannot condone any situation where aggrieved municipal workers resort to strike before actively engaging with their employers,” said KZN MEC for COGTA Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
KZN COGTA has called on all striking workers to return to work and follow the proper channels of engaging with their municipality through their labour unions. The department believes that workers stand a better chance of achieving their objectives if they do so.
“We are also aware that the strike has been motivated by factors other than unacceptable working conditions. Ever since COGTA intervened at this municipality, our efforts to put Mtubatuba on a sound footing have been met with resistance from certain quarters,” said Dube-Ncube.
It is this resistance that, according to COGTA, has incited the municipal strike whose aim is to take attention away from uncomfortable truths about the management of the Mtubatuba municipality and certain individuals who are implicated in the mismanagement that led to COGTA’s intervention.
For more information contact:
KZN COGTA spokesperson Lennox Mabaso
Cell: 082 884 2403
