Cape Town, June 17 (DPA) Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at hundreds of security guards in Cape Town Thursday, as a dispute with Stallion Security, a private company that had been charged with securing world cup stadia, continued.
‘A group of about 200 security guards went to their employer’s office and wanted to sit in,’ police spokesman Colonel Vishnu Naidoo told DPA. ‘They refused to disperse, so police had to use rubber bullets and tear gas. Twelve people were arrested.’
Naidoo said the situation was under control in the city, where England and Algeria have arrived to train ahead of their Group C clash Friday night.
Local television channels showed lines of police firing in the direction of a crowd of retreating protesters outside the local offices of Stallion Security.
There were no reports of injuries.
Employees of Stallion Security first clashed with police at the Moses Mabhiba stadium in Durban in the early hours of the morning Monday. The staff were demanding more pay and refused to leave the grounds. Several protesters were injured in the clash.
Police then took over control of security at Cape Town’s Green Point stadium hours before Monday’s game between Italy and Paraguay after staff were sent away as a precautionary measure.
The police force has since also taken charge at Ellis Park and Soccer City in Johannesburg, as well as the stadium in Port Elizabeth. The remaining World Cup venues are run by a different security company.
FIFA, the local organising committee and Stallion Security have all refused to comment on the dispute.
However, a source close to the security industry in Cape Town told DPA that the staff are angry that they are being paid only 200 rand ($26) per game during the World Cup, compared to the 250 rand they normally receive for rugby matches.
