City condemns shooting of Pikitup trucks

24 March 2016

The City of Johannesburg condemns the shooting of two Pikitup trucks along Rand Show Road, near Nasrec, which caused the vehicles to collide just before midnight on Wednesday, 23 March 2016.

The drivers of the trucks, which were deployed to collect waste amidst the ongoing illegal work stoppage by the waste management entity’s workers, fled the scene during the shooting. A group of other temporary workers who were on the trucks at the time were left in a state of shock. No one was wounded during the shooting. Security personnel who were escorting the trucks at the time managed to call for help.

Speaking to the temporary workers at the scene shortly after the shooting incident, Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Cllr. Parks Tau, expressed shock that striking Pikitup workers were resorting to deadly criminal tactics and intimidation in a bid to prevent the City’s attempts to deliver services to residents during their illegal strike.

“The City is currently finalising collaboration plans with various law enforcement agencies, including the South African Police Service, to ensure that the delivery of Pikitup services continues safely, and that the perpetrators are brought to book,” Mayor Tau said.

The incident comes after the Pikitup workers’ union, the South African Municipal Workers Union, recently distanced itself from the workers who have been damaging city property, emptying bins onto the streets and intimidating temporary workers and the general public.

Magistrate calls Pikitup, SAMWU to account on the ongoing illegal strike