{"id":99014,"date":"2025-07-10T14:17:18","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T12:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=99014"},"modified":"2025-07-10T14:17:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T12:17:18","slug":"court-backs-samwu-strike-as-talks-with-umhlathuze-municipality-resume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/court-backs-samwu-strike-as-talks-with-umhlathuze-municipality-resume\/","title":{"rendered":"Court backs SAMWU strike as talks with uMhlathuze Municipality resume"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Azra Hoosen |\u00a0ah@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n10 July 2025 | 14:15 CAT
\n2 min read<\/p>\n

Municipal workers affiliated with the South African Municipal Workers\u2019 Union (SAMWU) in Northern KwaZulu-Natal have been engaged in a protected strike over unresolved pay disputes, poor working conditions, and longstanding labour grievances. The strike, which has drawn significant attention, saw the municipality attempt to halt the industrial action through the courts twice last week. However, the Labour Court dismissed the applications, criticising the municipality for abusing legal processes.<\/p>\n

Sthembiso Dlamini, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Chairperson for SAMWU, outlined the key issues driving the strike in an interview with Radio Islam. These include health and safety concerns, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), unpaid overtime, and disputes over wage thresholds for workers in categories four to six. \u201cThere are a lot of issues that led us to go on strike,\u201d Dlamini said.<\/p>\n

While some matters could have been resolved through arbitration, the union opted for a collective approach, submitting a memorandum with nearly 19 unresolved grievances.<\/p>\n

The municipality sought urgent court intervention to halt the strike, arguing that it disrupted essential services. However, the Labour Court ruled against the applications, stating that the strike was legally protected and that the municipality had been given sufficient notice of the strike. \u201cThe court found that we followed proper procedures. The judge did not believe the matter was urgent and affirmed that the strike is legal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With the legal battle settled, both parties have returned to the negotiation table. Dlamini expressed cautious optimism, stating that discussions have been productive. \u201cWe are negotiating in good faith and have agreed not to disclose details until an agreement is reached,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A meeting held earlier this week showed promise, with further negotiations scheduled for Monday.<\/p>\n

Message to Workers and the Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dlamini urged the Umhlathuze community and workers nationwide to remain patient as negotiations continue. \u201cWe are hopeful that there will be light at the end of the tunnel,\u201d he said. The outcome of these talks will not only affect municipal employees but also determine how future labour disputes are handled in the region.<\/p>\n

As the strike continues, all eyes remain on whether the municipality will address workers\u2019 demands or risk further disruptions to service delivery. For now, SAMWU\u2019s legal victory stands as a significant moment for workers\u2019 rights in South Africa.<\/p>\n

LISTEN<\/strong> to the full interview with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie and Sthembiso Dlamini, <\/strong>KZN Provincial Chairperson for SAMWU, here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Azra Hoosen |\u00a0ah@radioislam.co.za 10 July 2025 | 14:15 CAT 2 min read Municipal workers affiliated with the South African Municipal Workers\u2019 Union (SAMWU) in Northern KwaZulu-Natal have been engaged in a protected strike over unresolved pay disputes, poor working conditions, and longstanding labour grievances. The strike, which has drawn significant attention, saw the municipality attempt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":99015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WhatsApp_Image_2025-07-08_at_13.54.50.width-800.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pL0","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 16:51:31","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}