Cops disperse CT strikers
2009-07-09 11:55
Cape Town - Police used a stun grenade to disperse a group of strikers near Cape Town's Green Point stadium on Thursday morning, a police spokesperson said.
Inspector November Filander said the 50-odd strikers were walking from the city's railway station to the stadium.
When they reached Somerset Road they had threatened to throw stones at police and passing motorists, and tried to disrupt traffic.
"Police had to fire one stun grenade, and they dispersed," Filander said. "At this stage everything is quiet."
The situation was being monitored by the SA Police Services, Cape Town metro police, and the city's traffic services.
Workers at Green Point have joined their counterparts at stadiums across the country in a strike for higher pay.
Most of the 2 000 workers at the stadium have joined the strike even though they are not unionised.
Dozens of disgruntled construction workers protested on several roads in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni Metro police said.
Inspector Jimmy Maboko said strikers first marched east on the R24 near Concourt bridge, and then moved onto the N12 east.
"Now, they have offramped towards Edenvale and there is no disruption to traffic flow."
Maboko said there were earlier reports that protesters had stoned vehicles on the roadway but stressed that police did not see anything and that no motorists had come forward to report such incidents.
"The strikers did cause some problems but when police arrived they were moved off the freeway," he said.
No arrests were made and police said they were monitoring the movement of the crowd.
- SAPA