Cape Town Civic Centre went on lockdown on Wednesday morning after a number of striking MyCiTi employees entered the building on the ground floor to protest.
The protesting individuals have since been released from the building and the Civic Centre has been reopened.
80 workers who were a part of the unprotected strikes that have been ongoing for more than a month were fired by Kindrogen, a company that hires MyCiti workers, at the start of the week.
The 80 had failed to report to work for five consecutive days, resulting in their dismissal.
Employees of MyCiti have been striking for several weeks, demanding improved working conditions and causing interruptions to public services as well as permanent damage to infrastructure.
Social media posts show the protestors surrounded by police on the ground floor of the civic centre on Wednesday morning.
Striking workers (mainly MyCiti bus staff) have occupied the Civic Centre and prompted a lockdown of the building #myciti #capetown #news24 pic.twitter.com/yzuTlIifqd
— Kadri (@kadri_nassiep) November 21, 2018
At 11.20am, teargas and stun grenades were released in the vicinity by police officials.
Protestors reportedly threw stones at the officials in retaliation.
As reported by News24, one protestor, Johannes Gordon, said that the group had entered the building to speak to the city’s new mayor, Dan Plato, as the city’s metro police had claimed this would be possible.
The protestors had then been surrounded by metro police and the members of the South African Police services.
Rumours have suggested that five of the protest leaders have been arrested by SAPS.
I made it in and it turns out the MyCiti bus strikers are inside the building in front of this iconic photo ? pic.twitter.com/Jc8DG3IjkN
— MANAGEMENT (@Zimasile_) November 21, 2018
Picture: Twitter
