Chaos has erupted at the Richards Bay Port on Tuesday. Construction workers went on "illegal morning strike" at the port entrance, situated in Newark Road.
Richards Bay police have arrested 20 people due to violent protests and two police vehicles were overturned and workers bulldozed other infrastructure at the site.
Police had reportedly fired shots in a bid to calm the irate crowd.
The protest action is stems from workers at a construction company, contracted to the Transnet Ports Authority who are demanding to be employed permanently.
Acting Chief Executive Themba Gwala said in a statement said the company has bolstered security on site‚ including reinforcements from the police‚ to ensure the safety of the workers‚ the company’s assets and those of third parties on their premises.
“The TPT activated its business continuity and contingency plans‚ including the command centre‚ which is staffed by our executives from the operations. These are intended to ensure that there is minimum disruption to port users and customers‚” said Gwala.
He said the situation has been contained and “our operations are running smoothly”.