KARIEGA – Municipal depot workers gathered outside the Kariega Municipal Court Depot in Cuyler Street on Wednesda, 5 August, once again raising concerns over their working conditions and prompting renewed questions about whether issues highlighted during previous protests have been addressed.

The demonstration comes more than a year after workers from municipal depots in Kariega, KwaNobuhle and Despatch staged a similar protest over concerns including inadequate facilities, safety, faulty vehicles and outstanding back pay. The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has been approached for comment.

UD Express previously reported in July 2025 that the workers’ concerns were that they have no ablution facilities, no fence around the premises, and safety issues, thieves often threaten workers as there is no fencing, making access easier. They also cited faulty municipal vehicles that have not been used, and back pay that has not yet been paid to general workers since 2016.

Regional secretary for the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU), Siphokazi Lobishe, said the workers had their routine Wednesday meeting to discuss issues affecting them. “Today they (municipal workers) were expecting their monthly, if not weekly, Anti-vandalism Committee meeting, established by the Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe. The committee had not met since April 2026. The meetings were to look into the challenges municipal workers face related to vandalism.”

Lobishe added that the committee had since collapsed and the workers are left exposed. “The Cuyler Municipal Court depot does not have any lights at night, but houses municipal vehicles that need to be guarded by the security guards. This makes it difficult for security officers to patrol at night, as vandals jump the wall to steal car parts and actual vehicles, as one has already been stolen.”

She added that the security have no torches for their night shift, no two-way radios for communication between the two security guards, and only control access to the depot. “The Despatch depot workers have no ablution facilities, which means female staff need to use the public toilets at a shopping centre, no changing rooms for workers, and no kitchen. The premises are completely vandalised but workers are still expected to work.”

She added that the Anti-vandalism Committee was established more than a year ago and she claims that it has nothing to show for it. “We are left to see for ourselves and navigate accordingly, and it has become too risky to come to work. It is not safe, and it is inhumane for someone to be expected to work under such conditions.

“At today’s meeting, we decided that enough is enough; we needed to make a statement. We closed the road, because that is the only language they understand. If you write to them to request a meeting, they postpone it; they change the Chief Operating Officer (COO), the chairperson of the Anti-vandalism Committee, and when the new one arrives, they request time to review the issues of the workers, and we are back to square one. Officials of the municipality should know what is happening in their region,” she said. “There is no willingness from the officials to restore these depots.”

Lobishe also stated that the protest was unplanned but motivated by the frustrations of the workers. “No one is willing to do anything about this dire situation,” she said.

“For three hours, we have been waiting for City officials, who did not arrive. We are totally disregarded by the officials. The excuse we got was that the officials are in a Mayoral Committee meeting, but the meeting started after we started protesting,” she claimed. “If they cared, at least one City official could have come to us, so that they know what our issues are.”

When asked which of the workers’ concerns had been addressed, Lobishe said one layer of brick was added to the existing wall, making it a bit higher, and part of the depot yard was cleared. “That means nothing to us. The most important thing is the ablution facilities. Even temporary ones would be enough. Even closing down the depot, particularly the Despatch one, and saying they have identified a better one would be good enough. This is not conducive.”

She alleged that the depots house municipal vehicles that have not even been used in 10 years, “but no one pays attention to those. These are the same vehicles that are stolen by the vandals because they know it is the hub of broken-down vehicles.”

She added that it is of great concern to her that the workers’ grievances are not attended to.

When asked what the perfect outcome for the workers would be, Lobishe stated, “Workers need an alternative workspace, especially the Despatch depot workers who are affected the most. Some of the workers come and just sit in the car for the whole day, and get paid to do so, because they don’t have work to do. It is the municipality’s fault. The workers don’t even have an office.

“What we want with immediate effect is the relocation of workers to a proper depot, the reinforcement of security measures, the installation of cameras, and the employment of armed security to make it difficult for the vandals to access the building. The safety of workers should not be negotiable. There was an incident where thieves were sleeping in one of the municipal vehicles,” she said.

The municipality was approached for comment, but one was not provided at the time of publication. The municipal comment will be added once received.

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