COSATU CRITICISES ANC FOR LACK OF LEADERSHIP DEALING WITH CORRUPTION, JOB LOSSES

Cosatu, a key ally of the governing ANC, is on a national strike against corruption, job losses, retrenchments, gender-based violence and attacks on collective bargaining.

Cosatu President Zingiswa Losi leads the march to Treasury in Pretoria for the national strike on 7 October 2020. Picture: Abigail Javier/EWN

Kaylynn Palm | 

JOHANNESBURG/CAPE TOWN - The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in Gauteng has criticised the African National Congress (ANC) for its lack of leadership in dealing with corruption and unemployment.

Cosatu, a key ally of the governing ANC, is on a national strike against corruption, job losses, retrenchments, gender-based violence and attacks on collective bargaining.

The trade federation has handed over their list of demands to the provincial leadership at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Johannesburg.

Transport MEC Jacob Mambolo has received the memorandum on behalf of the premier.

Cosatu provincial chairperson Amos Monyela read out some of their demands: “We are hoping that sooner or later, people will be in orange and secondly, the mismanagement of SOEs is a problem to us.”

Meanwhile in the Western Cape, workers from various sectors gathered in Hanover Street on Thursday with their red T-shirts and posters reading ‘Dan Plato we want our increases’ and ‘no to job losses’.

They marched to the Cape Town Civic Centre where they handed over a memorandum to the City of Cape Town demanding the municipality to do away with labour brokers and address their concerns around the EPWP system.

Cosatu’s Malvern de Bruyn said: “As workers, we are unhappy, especially the municipal workers. If you look at the EPWP system that has been abused for over years, they’ve replaced permanent workers with fewer workers in order for them to save money.”

De Bruyn said they also wanted to highlight the issues being raised nationally such as corruption, job losses and retrenchments.