Violence flared up again in Ugie yesterday as scores of protesters took to the streets demanding jobs from a local timber processing company.Police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the hundreds of young men and women demanding jobs from PG Bison.
The company’s bosses met with protest leaders at the weekend.
PG Bison CEO Gerald Victor, executive director Brandt Engelbrecht, police top brass and protest leaders attended the meeting where it was allegedly said the company did not have any more jobs.
Businesses in the small town have been closed since last week as protesters went on the rampage, threatening to shut down schools.
Heavily armed police officers in riot gear battled for hours with stone-throwing youths who assembled on the R56 and burnt tyres near the company’s plant.
Different groups along the freeway launched attacks on police and shots rang out while smoke billowed in the air as police responded with rubber bullets, stun and smoke grenades and tear gas.
A helicopter was used to douse a fire in a nearby plantation. Protesters retreated into the Land Camp and Bekela townships as police fired shots from a Nyala.
At least five protesters, including a woman who was shot in the leg at close range, were arrested.
A number of houses had their doors and windows broken after police went on a door-to-door offensive.
Protest leaders have vowed to bring all operations at PG Bison to a halt until their demands are met. PG Bison has hired a private security company from Nelson Mandela Bay to beef up security at its sites.
Coordinator of the Elundini Community Coordinating Forum (ECCF) Mzwandile Mpofu said the company told them it did not have space to employ more people.
“They are not disputing their promise of 5000 jobs for locals when they arrived but they have not put any offers on the table. They are not providing any solution.
“More than 400 people who work at PG Bison come from Mpumalanga, against some 250 locals,” he said.
“That’s unacceptable given the high level of poverty here.
“PG Bison must prioritise the local people, especially when it comes to jobs that don’t require high-level skills.”
The company produces boards made from pine trees planted on vast acres of land around Ugie.
The Daily Dispatch was unable to get official comment from the company at the time of writing yesterday.
Protesters, cops clash again over timber jobs
The company’s bosses met with protest leaders at the weekend.
PG Bison CEO Gerald Victor, executive director Brandt Engelbrecht, police top brass and protest leaders attended the meeting where it was allegedly said the company did not have any more jobs.
Businesses in the small town have been closed since last week as protesters went on the rampage, threatening to shut down schools.
Heavily armed police officers in riot gear battled for hours with stone-throwing youths who assembled on the R56 and burnt tyres near the company’s plant.
Different groups along the freeway launched attacks on police and shots rang out while smoke billowed in the air as police responded with rubber bullets, stun and smoke grenades and tear gas.
A helicopter was used to douse a fire in a nearby plantation. Protesters retreated into the Land Camp and Bekela townships as police fired shots from a Nyala.
At least five protesters, including a woman who was shot in the leg at close range, were arrested.
A number of houses had their doors and windows broken after police went on a door-to-door offensive.
Protest leaders have vowed to bring all operations at PG Bison to a halt until their demands are met. PG Bison has hired a private security company from Nelson Mandela Bay to beef up security at its sites.
Coordinator of the Elundini Community Coordinating Forum (ECCF) Mzwandile Mpofu said the company told them it did not have space to employ more people.
“They are not disputing their promise of 5000 jobs for locals when they arrived but they have not put any offers on the table. They are not providing any solution.
“More than 400 people who work at PG Bison come from Mpumalanga, against some 250 locals,” he said.
“That’s unacceptable given the high level of poverty here.
“PG Bison must prioritise the local people, especially when it comes to jobs that don’t require high-level skills.”
The company produces boards made from pine trees planted on vast acres of land around Ugie.
The Daily Dispatch was unable to get official comment from the company at the time of writing yesterday.
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