Cosatu members marched to the Premier’s Office in Kimberley on Wednesday calling for urgent action to be taken to avoid a worsening economic crisis due to escalating food and fuel prices and load shedding.
COSATU members marched to the Premier’s Office on Wednesday calling for urgent action to be taken to avoid an economic crisis due to escalating food and fuel prices and load shedding.
It warned that further strike action would follow if its demands were not met in the next 14 days.
While some civil servants took to the street to march, others arrived at the Premier’s Office in motor vehicles.
All heads of departments were advised that there would be a ‘no work, no pay’ policy on August 23-24 for employees who were absent from work during the strike action and march.
Essential workers were forbidden from participating in the march.
A memorandum handed over by Cosatu pointed out that half of the population in the country was impoverished and unemployed.
“Workers are dealing with wage stagnation, with their wages repealed by inflation and punishing debt. They are unable to supplement their take-home income. The lives of the working class and the poor have become one long emergency and the Covid-19 pandemic has only made things worse.”
The trade union federation condemned extreme budget cuts.
It called for “the reversal of budget cuts that have led to an unacceptable wage freeze in the public service, the disintegration of state-owned companies and the collapse of public services”.
It urged the government to honour its collective agreements and permanently employ community health workers.
Cosatu also demanded that solar energy be provided to indigent households and that the poor be cushioned from steep price increases.
“The Department of Public Enterprises must respond to the looting that happened at Eskom, Transnet and other state-owned enterprises.
“Government should act decisively to fix the inefficiencies of the state and the scourge of corruption in both the public and the private sector.”
The federation advised that family members of politicians should be prevented from doing business with the state.
“Politicians who insist on family members doing business with the government should step down from their positions.
“All persons accused in the Zondo Commission should be investigated, charged and prosecuted, while the assets of guilty parties should be attached.
“Political parties whose members are implicated in the report need to remove compromised persons who are still holding party office or public representative positions.”
