Health union NEHAWU issued forthright condemnation of police brutality, Government indifference and reiterated its demand for a revised offer.
http://www.nehawu.org.za/news/articles.asp?ID=429
‘We strongly condemn the uncalled for incidences of brutality and provocation by the police who attacked and shot public servants on a legal and protected strike. These provocations have fuelled confrontations by making workers angry and frustrated. This is a legal strike and there is no need for the police to break the picket lines and assault striking workers without provocation and we will not be intimidated into submission by these apartheid style tactics.
'We find it regrettable that our leaders in government have been silent and have failed to condemn the apartheid style tactics by the police officers. The Ministers and the entire government leaderships public statements do not provide the necessary leadership to resolve the impasse. Public exchanges in the media should seek positive solutions for striking underpaid and demoralised public service workers and not seek to demonise workers struggling for their legitimate demands.
'We would like to reiterate the fact that this is an unnecessary strike and the workers are reluctant participants in this whole mess but we remain resolute in demanding what we believe are legitimate demands. This government spent R32 billion to host a month long soccer tournament and we expect them to raise enough funds to pay the workers who are at the forefront of service delivery. The wasteful expenditure that we see on a daily basis including the advertorials from Richard Baloyi is proof that the money is there but governments priorities are misplaced and skewed.
'Government seem prepared to pay private sector to do public service work instead of using the same money to settle the dispute. We hope our government shall soon come to its rational senses and intervene by putting a revised offer on the table.’
