Striking security guards to march in major cities

The strike by security guards, already in its third week, continues today with marches across the country. The strike that has turned violent on several occasions began when workers and employers could not reach consensus over a pay increase of eleven percent. Trade union Satawu says protest marches would be held in Pretoria, Durban, East London , Bloemfontein and Polokwane. Memoranda will be handed over to the departments of labour and safety and security. Union leaders are to address workers during the memorial service for Western Cape security committee chairperson Sibongile Tutu in Langa tomorrow. Tutu was gunned down in the early hours of Monday morning.

Meanwhile, Satawu has pledged its full co-operation with police investigations into the deaths of six people thrown from a train in Benoni yesterday. Police say the gruesome murders could possibly be linked to the strike by security guards. Satawu spokesperson Ronnie Mamba says that if their members are found to be implicated, the union would assist the police in any way it can. The naked bodies of five men were discovered on railway tracks between the Van Rhyn and Alliance stations in Benoni. A sixth man who was also pushed out of a train died on the way to hospital.