A SOUTH African court yesterday barred police from joining the ongoing strike by public sector workers after a union for rank-and-file officers warned its 145,000 members would join the mass action at the weekend.
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) said on Wednesday its members would strike on August 28th in solidarity with the 1.3 million public sector workers looking for better wages.
However, in the early hours of yesterday, the South African Police Service secured a court injunction barring its members from striking because they are an essential service. Popcru has said it will legally challenge the court injunction, but police officials have warned that, until the ruling has been overturned, any officer who strikes could face the sack.
As the indefinite strike over increased wage demands entered its ninth day yesterday, unions continued to hold marches across the country to force the government to pay the 8.6 per cent pay increase they are after.
The government has offered a 7 per cent increase, which it says is the maximum it can afford.
Army medical teams were again called upon to staff hospitals nationwide because of the refusal by most nurses to obey a court injunction ordering them not to strike, as an essential service.
However, the ability of the army to continue to help at hospitals was also cast in doubt yesterday after soldiers’ unions said they too were thinking about joining the mass action in support of public sector workers.
South African National Defence Union spokesman Jeff Dubazana said it would make an announcement today regarding its position.
“The problem is, if this problem is not solved, there’s a possibility that we might be seen as scab labour. We are not going to allow our workers to be seen in that particular fashion,” he said.