Ethekwini's municipal services are expected to come to a standstill from Tuesday as thousands of unicity workers take to the streets in a massive national strike over pay increases.
The legal strike is set to continue during the President Thabo Mbeki-chaired African Union Summit which starts next Tuesday, and concerns have been raised it could disrupt the economic development initiative for the continent.
At least 11 000 unicity workers, members of the South African Municipal Workers' Union, are to down tools. These include bus drivers, street sweepers, traffic officers and other emergency personnel.
Samwu has not accepted the eight percent increment offered by the South African Local Government Association. The union is demanding 10 percent across the board and wants basic salaries upped from R1 900 to R2 200.
The Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union, which has agreed to the eight percent offer, will not be part of the protest.
Samwu national spokesperson Anna Weekes said more than 100 000 employees would not work nationally.
Although there was an agreement in other provinces that emergency services would be required to work, in Durban things were different, the union said. The unicity will have no municipal buses and if anything, there will be minimum police, health and fire services.
"We are saying, for example, that if the health service has 15 nurses, only three can work," the union said.
As a prelude to the strike, about 100 eThekwini workers marched outside the Metro Police headquarters near Old Fort Road on Monday.
Mike Sutcliffe, the new municipal manager, said employees on essential services were not expected to strike.
"In terms of the agreement entered into by Salga and all municipal workers' unions, workers in fire, solid waste, health, fire, water and police services are not to strike. And if they do, then we will take disciplinary action against them.