Police use water cannons to disperse ‘peaceful’ protesters outside Parly

A group of hospitality industry workers gathered outside the parliamentary precinct to protest certain lockdown restrictions which they said were throttling the industry

A protest outside Parliament this morning has been broken up by police.

Gathered outside the parliamentary precinct were a group of hospitality industry workers.

They were there to protest certain lockdown restrictions which they said were throttling the industry.

They want government to relax some regulations.

The movement called #ServeUsPlease was raising awareness around the crippling effect the national lockdown has had on the hospitality industry.

It was reported that most of them have not been paid for the past five months.

A spokesperson of the #ServeUsPlease movement said police used unnecessary force against them:

“These were peaceful protesters from the hospitality industry outside Parliament. Literally five minutes after the gathering started, police rocked up in multiple vehicles, water cannons and armoured vehicles. They were throwing stun grenades at the protesters.”

See the video here:

#JobsSaveLives #ServeUsPlease a group of protestors have been dispersed outside parliament. They are raising awareness around the plight of the restaurant industry during the lockdown. (Video – Greg Forbes). JK pic.twitter.com/wvKoLOxuhE
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) July 24, 2020

DA chief whip Natasha Mazzone accepted their memorandum of demands and grievances.

The group ended up dispersing afterward.

The #ServeUsPlease movement on Friday organised protests throughout the country. Protesters were expected to form human chains to highlight the chain reaction the lockdown restrictions have had on individual livelihoods.