Ramaphosa concerned over situation in eThekwini: Presidency
President Cyril Ramaphosa is said to be deeply concerned by the situation in eThekwini brought on by the municipal workers' strike.
As the industrial action dragged on for more than two weeks, some services in the city, including refuse collection, came to a halt.
Residents in various parts of the city also had to sit days without water or electricity due to faults not being attended to.
Act of intimidation also claimed the life of a female employee, and damage caused to some infrastructure.
READ: 'Some movement’ as eThekwini starts clean-up operations
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said on Friday that labour disputes shouldn't have to turn violent.
"A number of ministers, including the JCPS cluster, have been on the ground to look at the various issues that are currently plaguing the metro.
"So there is already work underway to look at ways in which we can support from a perspective of national government the people of eThekwini. With respect to work already underway the Department of Water and Sanitation is already working quite closely with eThekwini Metro."
This week, workers started returning to their posts after the City and union SAMWU agreed to a salary benchmarking workshop as part of efforts to resolve the wage grievances.
Employees say they want to be paid the same as municipal workers in other metros.
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