South Africa: Protesting truck drivers block roads in Cape Town and Johannesburg July 9

Event

Truck drivers blocked roads with their vehicles in Cape Town and Johannesburg and other cities on Tuesday, July 7, as part of the banned National Truck Shutdown protests and strike called for on Tuesday to denounce the hiring of foreign workers.

In Cape Town, the Huguenot Tunnel, on the N1 road, was cleared after truck drivers blocked it with their vehicles. On the N2, a truck was parked across the road between Victoria Road and De Beers. Two trucks were impounded as a result of these blockages.

In Johannesburg, security personnel cleared the M2 highway in Benrose after two trucks were blocking the road. Dozens of protesters also reportedly gathered in City Deep in Johannesburg as part of the protests.

Separately, there were reports of trucks belonging to foreign truckers being set alight on Sunday evening (local time), July 5, along the N1, N3 and N7 roads. Similar incidents were reported in Durban on July 7.

Further protests are possible in the coming days, and disruptions to overland transportation are to be expected.

Context

The protests are being held due to what South African truck drivers believe is the disproportionate employment of foreign workers in the trucking industry in South Africa, leading to unemployment amongst South African nationals. The July 7 strike action was called for in June, which the aim being to encourage trucking companies to hire more South African truckers.

Advice

Individuals in South Africa are advised to monitor the situation, anticipate transportation disruptions, avoid all protests and demonstrations as a precaution, and adhere to all instructions issued by local authorities.