Pretoria - Residents of Muckleneuk in Pretoria have been left feeling like the “trampled grass” between two fighting elephants due to the impasse between Unisa workers affiliated to the National Education Health and Allied Workers (Nehawu) and the institution.
Businesses and residents in the Muckleneuk area said they were tired that each year since 2018 they have been inconvenienced by whatever issues crop up between the university and its employees.
One owner who requested to remain anonymous said her bed-and-breakfast business had gone from 70% occupancy to a worrying 20% of customers since the protest action began in March.
The owner said that while she was not picking sides, they were not happy that they had to be inconvenienced with no one taking them into consideration.
Another homeowner, who has lived in the area for 30 years, said every year it was the same thing, with workers gathering by the small park in the area from 6am until 7pm, putting up barricades, shouting, singing and making a noise.
The homeowner said this time around the workers were either burning tyres or cutting the trees to block the road.
“There are cars everywhere parked in front of the gates, we can’t move and our tenants are too scared to go outside. In the afternoon many of them (protesters) stay behind and have parties in their cars drinking and making noise late into the night.
Residents of Muckleneuk feel like the "trampled grass" between two fighting elephants as the protest action by Unisa workers affiliated to Nehawu continues to rage on. They said they were tired they had to be inconvenienced by whatever issues cropped up. @unisa @nehawuotp pic.twitter.com/ku3jj4m868
— Pretoria News (@pretorianews) May 18, 2022
“The other concern is that they don’t have toilet facilities, and after standing around here all day they end up relieving themselves on the walls. When we tried to stop them from pulling out poles they started throwing rocks at us.”
The allegations were rejected by the union, which said they had not barred any cars or attacked any of the residents in the area.
The union alleged that they in fact had been harassed and attacked by the police without provocation, with the police even shooting protesters leaving in their cars.
Nehawu regional chairperson Ivan Ramogale said the protest was heading into its first month since they began their protest action on April 19.
Ramogale said they were demonstrating over the unlawful dismissal of five office-bearers aligned to the union, as well as to highlight the dispute between them and the university.
According to the regional chairperson, the workers were requesting an improvement in their working conditions, which had also been lodged with the CCMA.
“This dispute has not been resolved, so the workers were on a protected strike.”
On the concerns and fears raised by some of the residents about the protesting workers, Ramogale said they had been speaking to property owners who sympathised with them.
“The police are here acting on the interdict obtained by the university on allegations of disruption of traffic and not allowing residents to access their own houses, but our strike has always been peaceful. The interdict does not stop our lawful strike. It says to be at least 100 metres away from the university, which we have done,” he added.
They felt it was unfair for the police to shoot at people holding a peaceful protest to highlight their grievances.
Pretoria News