The Times *Strikers vow to stay away* /Workers will defy court order/ *Sipho Masondo and Nivashni Nair, The Times, Johannesburg, 22 August 2010*Civil servants yesterday vowed to intensify their strike, defying a court order granted to the government ordering that workers employed in essential services should return to their posts
This follows a Johannesburg Labour Court order on Saturday, compelling nurses and other essential services workers to get back to work.
The court also ordered unions to stop disrupting schools and hospitals and to stop intimidating workers who were not on strike.
Today, police nationwide are expected to prevent striking workers from blocking entrances to public hospitals and from harassing school pupils and teachers in classrooms.
The National Health and Allied Workers' Union, which represents nurses and other health professionals, said "there was no question" about the strike continuing.
General secretary Fikile Majola said: "We have been served with an interdict. It doesn't say we shouldn't strike. The interdict doesn't say anything about essential services. The strike is going on. In fact, we are intensifying it."
He said the union did not condone violence.Dumisani Nkwamba, spokesman for Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi, said the department expects to see all nurses back at work today.
"They must obey the court order. They have to return to work immediately. If they don't do that, normal processes will be followed to ensure there is recourse," he said, declining to elaborate.
South African Democratic Teachers' Union general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said the union will press on regardless.
"It's not an illegal strike. They have interdicted us from intimidation. There were isolated incidents, which we have said we do not condone, that we condemn. We call upon our members to go out in their numbers, but to respect the rights of others."
Yesterday, the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal called on police to "do their jobs" and arrest unruly strikers.
They also began a campaign to recruit volunteers to help at schools and hospitals.
Last week, hundreds of police officers were sent to schools and hospitals where strikers blockaded entrances, burned tyres and, in some cases, assaulted teachers and school pupils. Despite this, no one was arrested.
ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said yesterday the provincial government was granted an interdict in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Saturday which must be enforced by police.
"We support the strike, but if someone is causing a disruption, he must be brought to book," he said. "We call on leaders of unions to caution members to refrain from inhumane behaviour."
*From: http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article617092.ece/Strikers-vow-to-stay-away*
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