A sit-in by Kumba Iron Ore Sishon workers is ongoing in the Republic of South Africa. The country has been hit by a series of wildcat strikes., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
COSATU Press Statements
COSATU NW condemns the mass dismissal of workers in the mines
16 October 2012
The Congress of South African Trade Unions in the North West is disappointed by the decision of the mine bosses to dismiss workers who have been on an unprotected strike.
In as much as COSATU is aware that the strike is unprotected COSATU still believes that there is still room for further negotiations to resolve the strike.
As the COSATU affiliate NUM has said, interdicts and dismissals are not the way to go. COSATU stands by the NUM suggestion and we want to urge the mine bosses to withdraw those dismissals and engage further to find a way of resolving the strikes with minimum loss of jobs that our economy needs.
COSATU would once again plead for calm during the strike and urge all the workers not to use violence while COSATU and NUM are still engaging in negotiating their demands.
COSATU wants to call the bosses to open the negotiations to find a way of improving the lives of the workers, as we are all aware that for the past eighteen years the bosses have been benefiting from the economic growth that our country have enjoyed while the workers share have decreased.
We want to be on record that the current situation was created by the mine bosses themselves, so they should help us to resolve the crisis we are in and stop dismissing workers by sms or in public.
As the federation we are giving the employers until the 27/10/2012 to reinstate all workers who are dismissed informally. If they fail to do that the federation will be outlining its program of action to deal with the mining industry as whole.
We also want to warn those who are used against the workers and the working class, like those who were mobilized and transported to disturb the SAMWU march last week on the 12/10/2012 against corruption and defending its members who are politically dismissed for exposing corruption in the municipalities and the rest of our provincial government.
We are aware of the political agenda to weaken COSATU and its affiliates and the agenda was outlined by the corrupt councillors, including some of officials who are benefiting from tenders and those who benefited from the killing of late Moss Phakoe.
It is on record that the same people who were used during the case of Moss trail are the same poor people who are used against COSATU. Why are poor people agreeing to be used by rich people and councillors?
We are demanding that the police must investigate the role of councillors in this matter of disrupting the SAMWU march which was approved as per the gathering act and who paid the transport of those EPWP workers who are always used against the poor communities to achieve the political agenda of certain councillors under the name of our movement [ANC]. Criminals and killers must stop using the name of ANC, and the ANC T-shirt when defending corruption.
Our municipalities are going to the drain, are not able to deliver services to the voters due to those criminals. The fight against corruption is a call from the alliance, and as the federation and the working class we will not stop exposing those who are the masterminds of corruption.
We want to congratulate the workers at the Moses Kotana municipality for the arrest of six people, including some of the officials and business people who were arrested right at the bank for cashing over four million last week. Congratulations to the police, and to members of COSATU for continuing to expose corruption and fighting for service delivery to the poor people in our province.
COSATU wants to put it clearly that it supports the demands of the workers as they are in line with COSATU’s living wage campaign and that we will take up a mass action in the next two weeks if the employers continue with its attitude of demanding workers go back to work under the current situation where workers are killed and the safety of those workers and their families is under attack.
For more information contact Solly Phetoe the Provincial Secretary of North West at 082 304 4055
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