The City of Cape Town has appealed to organisers of two labour unions planning to descend on the metro for protest demonstrations to maintain order.
On Wednesday, both the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) are expected to hold separate demonstrations.
Saftu called on all workers to down tools in protest over high unemployment rates, increased electricity tariffs and steep increases in fuel and transport costs. Cosatu will host a picket outside the Passenger Railway Agency of South Africa’s (Prasa) in the CBD at 10am to demand a better functioning rail system.
Numerous organisations and unions affiliated to the federations have joined in support of the shutdown.
Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith said the City’s law enforcement will be out in full force to monitor both demonstrations.
“The SAPS is the lead agency on matters relating to public order policing, but the City’s enforcement services will deploy in support of SAPS, and manage road closures and traffic impacts as the procession moves through the CBD,” he said.
“Our enforcement services will also be on alert for any other possible disruptions in other parts of the city, Smith said.
He had advised members of the public to follow the City’s social media channels and local media platforms for any updates.
“While some of the issues referenced in these shutdown notices are legitimate, the approach of creating blockades and disruptions harms the most vulnerable communities and does not contribute to addressing the problems being referenced as the cause of the protest,” Smith concluded.
Meanwhile, Golden Arrow Bus Services (Gabs) said it would monitor the situation to determine how operations would be affected by staff stay-aways.
“We cannot determine ahead of time how many employees will report for duty or whether additional external factors may affect our services, and as such we cannot necessarily predict what exactly will transpire throughout the day on Wednesday.
“We will be monitoring the situation closely from early morning and will provide updates via our Facebook page,” read the company’s statement.