South African police ordered not to join strike that has hit hospitals, schools nationwide

South African police ordered not to join strike

JOHANNESBURG — South African police say officers who join the nationwide public service strike for higher pay could be fired.

The strike, in its eighth day Thursday, has so far hit hospitals and schools hardest.

South Africa has one of the world’s highest rates of violent crime, with some 50 murders a day.

A police force statement says it obtained a court order early Thursday barring police from striking. The police union said a day earlier that its members would start striking Saturday.

Norman Mampane, spokesman for the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union, says union lawyers will challenge the court order. In the meantime, he says, plans for marches and a weekend strike are on.