PRETORIA - Major roads have been opened in the Pretoria city centre after being closed on Monday by Samwu affiliated municipal workers who used trucks and buses to barricade entrance and exit points.
The disgruntled workers took to the streets illegally and blocked all major routes into the CBD while demanding an 18% salary increase and an end to labour brokering.
Outside Tshwane House, the municipal headquarters, hundreds of workers stood waiting, unable to access the building.
A group said they had received notification from the acting city manager, Lorette Tedoux, that Monday was a "normal working day" and they should be at their desks by 9am or risk forfeiting pay.
While they waited on the steps and pavement, a group formed at the corner of Madiba and Lilian Ngoyi streets outside Tshwane House and started singing, then marched down Madiba Street towards the Pretoria News building.
Some learners were unable to get to school because bus services were suspended. Several employees told African News Agency (ANA) they had to use taxis into the CBD or had abandoned their vehicles on the side of the road, which they would collect later. Some businesses closed their doors for the day.
On Friday, Samwu released a statement highlighting what it called "the delaying tactics" used by the municipality to sort out employee demands, including the increase.
The union said the increase must be made in line with a decision by the city to increase its ranking from category 9 to category 10, which was effected by the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs in 2017.