2 publishers · first seen Wed, 28 Oct 2026 18:45 UTC · updated Thu, 29 Oct 2026 02:30 UTC
Johannesburg continues to face service delivery disruptions as municipal workers affiliated with the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) protest over the city’s failure to implement the Politically Facilitated Agreement (PFA), a wage and benefits agreement from 2016. Waste collection has been severely affected, with uncollected rubbish piling up in northern, western and southern areas, while Joburg Water also reports delays. Pikitup, the city’s waste management entity, cited minimal operational capacity and a growing backlog due to the industrial action. Residents in areas including Fourways, Roodepoort and Florida reported unemptied bins and lack of notification about the service interruption.
The protest, held in the Johannesburg CBD on Monday, escalated into violence, with allegations of tyre burning, road blockades on the M1 Freeway, and attacks on a municipal truck. Sixteen Samwu members were arrested and charged with public violence, malicious injury to property, and contravening road traffic regulations, but were released on warning with a court date set for 3 December.
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