Union wants the City of Cape Town to probe allegations of racism

City official Joe Barnes accepts a memorandum of demands from a South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) official Pholisa Sineli. The union wants the City to investigate allegations of racism, victimisation and abuse of power. PICTURE: Leon Lestrade, African News Agency (ANA)

City official Joe Barnes accepts a memorandum of demands from a South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) official Pholisa Sineli. The union wants the City to investigate allegations of racism, victimisation and abuse of power. PICTURE: Leon Lestrade, African News Agency (ANA)

Published May 30, 2021

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Cape Town - The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) has called for an end to racism, abuse of authority and victimisation of its members employed by the City of Cape Town.

The call was made during a protest on Saturday to highlight the alleged unfair disciplinary hearings targeting the union's shop stewards.

At least 10 Samwu shop stewards, including firefighters, were facing disciplinary charges ranging from gross misconduct to insubordination, the union's regional chairperson Mzoxolo Miselo said.

Miselo said the rate at which the City was resorting to disciplinary processes was “alarming” and shop stewards were mainly targeted to “silence” or sideline them from promotion opportunities.

“These charges are framed in a manner that if you are not found guilty on one charge you will surely be found guilty on others. This cannot go on unchallenged. We want the City to create a platform for dialogue. The City should first explore corrective measures before dismissing employees,” Miselo said.

He added that most employees were now despondent and felt their future was bleak.

Although he could not provide a definite figure, Miselo said some shop stewards had been dismissed.

“We are currently dealing with an appeal of one of the dismissed shop stewards. Their crime is for speaking up.”

A shop steward and senior employee at the Traffic Services Department in Green Point alleged that a white colleague threatened to beat another black colleague in April last year and him when he tried to intervene.

He said he reported the matter to senior officials but was told not to press charges as the white colleague had “just bought a house and a car and had a small child”.

He alleged that the officials did not investigate the incident but the white colleague was moved to the Bellville office.

The employee said he was currently facing three charges related to separate incidents.

“The reason I am being targeted is because I am a vocal shop steward and I am being blocked for promotion,” the employee said.

City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo confirmed that the employee was currently facing a disciplinary process.

In a memorandum of demands handed to a City official, the union called on the mayor and the City manager to launch an investigation into allegations of abuse and victimisation including:

* a senior law enforcement officer in Mitchells Plain who was selling goods confiscated from the informal settlement;

* an incident where a female shop steward was allegedly locked up for two hours in a manager's office;

* a shop steward being manhandled by security at the instruction of management.

The union also alleged that a 63-year-old employee was facing several charges of insubordination brought by different managers.

Tyhalibongo said the City conducted all disciplinary processes in a fair manner, free of racial discrimination.

Regarding the senior law enforcement officer, Tyhalibongo said he was found guilty on two charges and “appropriately penalised”.

Tyhalibongo said no evidence was led in the disciplinary process with regards to the officer taking items from the City's informal trading store unit.

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