Many companies are still busy calculating the economic impact the taxi strike has had on their businesses, and the Epping Precinct, which hosts 738 businesses, is not immune.
According to Riad Davids, ward councillor for Epping, practically every factory was affected.
“We received no communication of complete closure, although many closed early or opened late, or did hybrid work from home wherever possible,” he says.
Michelle February, a worker at Modern Hair in Epping Industrial, explains how she could not make it to work on Monday morning 7 August.
“By the time I got to the R300 the roads were closed as stones were being thrown and vehicles were on fire,” she says.
Understanding managers
February says her employers were very understanding.
“My manager kept in touch with me later that day and the next morning and advised that it was too dangerous to come in.”
She said she put in for a day’s leave, but her company’s HR department advised her it would be changed to special leave, as it was not her intention to stay at home.
February said looting did not take place at the factory she works at because security had closed the entrance gates immediately after they became aware of its possibility.
“The factories around us made arrangements with lifts and workers left early,” she says.
A severe blow to collective efforts
Regan Thaw, spokesperson for Premier Alan Winde, stated that given the vast scale of the violence that marred the mini-bus taxi strike, the Western Cape Government did not have the resources to assist all SMMEs impacted by the stay-away and the unrest.
“It is deeply concerning to the Western Cape Government that the livelihoods of the most vulnerable in our communities have been impacted by the prolonged and violent strike,” he said.
“In these difficult economic times the economy must stay open for business, creating the jobs our citizens need. The strike dealt a severe blow to our collective efforts to grow the province’s economy and create jobs. We now need to double down to claw back the losses caused by the strike.”
While they don’t yet know the full economic impact on the economy, the Western Cape government’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism (Dedat) kept the private sector updated throughout the strike, including information on how to report incidences of violence.
Through Dedat, the WCG offers various kinds of support including various programmes to boost exports, support SMMEs and tourism development support.
Visit https://www.westerncape.gov.za/economic-sector-support for more information on the various types of support available.’
