Devan Pillay reports on the recent illegal municipal workers strike in Cape Town, where up to 10 000 militant mostly coloured workers staged a sit-in on council premises, and demanded a living wage, an end to racist employment practices, and working conditions. The strike, coming amidst heightened workers mobilisation in the region, was the first in the 62 year history of Cape Town’s old municipal workers’ union (which in 1987 became part of South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) and dealt a severe blow to the liberal image of the city council.
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