Strike has resulted in no casualties locally – EMPD
No arrests have been made and no casualties have been reported in the Boksburg area since the commencement of the National Union off Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) strike.
According to Kobeli Mokheseng, spokesperson for the EMPD, on Tuesday at 1pm, they received reports of people stoning passing vehicles on Jet Park Road by the Elandsfontein train station.
“Our Public Order Policing Unit responded, and we found a group of Numsa members toyi-toying peacefully next to the station.”
On Wednesday at 7am, they received reports of an unruly members of Numsa at the same spot.
“We responded and they were not violent at our presence,” he says.
He adds that the EMPD will continue working with the SAPS to monitor the situation.
On Wednesday the Advertiser went to Jet Park where numerous petrol service stations had been closed do to the striking petrol attendants.
Castro Ngobese, national spokesperson for Numsa, says that they will be intensifying their strike.
“We will be unleashing all our power at our disposal to force the bosses to return back to the bargaining table with a decent offer in order to settle or resolve the strike action,” says Ngobese.
He adds that they have received allegations that their striking members are assaulting non-striking members.
“These are unsubstantiated allegations and we are taking them seriously and are following up and investigating with our structures.”
Ngobese says that Numsa does not condone violence and since the start of the strike, their members have exercised high levels of discipline and maturity.
“Our members will never act outside the law and any evidence that suggest otherwise, the union is duty bound to apply its disciplinary code of conduct in such circumstances.”
