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14 Samwu members due in court after M1 protest

Published

Fourteen members of the South African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) were arrested on Monday after a wage protest blocked the M1 in Johannesburg. They are expected in the Johannesburg Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, and the union says colleagues will march again.

The protest brought traffic on the M1 to a standstill near Braamfontein. Reports differ on the charge: one says public violence, the other says incitement of public violence.

The dispute is with the City of Johannesburg over a wage agreement. The union says the deal dates from 2016 and that the city has failed to honour it. It says the amount owed grew to about R10.3 billion, and only R1.2 billion has been paid.

Samwu says workers expected a payment of more than R5 billion in July this year. Regional Secretary Thobani Nkosi said members are now told they will be paid next year. The union says the city has proposed a different payment timeline.

Nkosi said: "We demand our money and we demand the release of these comrades. We will not leave the streets of Joburg until the employer does something."

Key facts

Who
Thobani Nkosi (Samwu Regional Secretary); South African Municipal Workers' Union (union whose City of Joburg employees protested); South African Municipal Workers Union (union whose affiliates were arrested and which is in dispute with the city); City of Johannesburg (municipality in dispute with SAMWU over the 2016 agreement)
What
City of Johannesburg employees affiliated with Samwu said they would return to the streets on Wednesday morning in support of 14 colleagues arrested on Monday after a protest that brought traffic on the M1 freeway to a standstill. The union says the members were expecting payment in July this year but are now being told they will be paid next year.
When
28 October 2026
Where
Johannesburg, M1 freeway, Johannesburg Magistrates' Court
Status
Reported

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