As we draw close to the 13th February 2019Day of National Strike led by our Federation COSATU, amid the rising socio-economic challenges that confront labour movement in the country, SACCAWU adds her voice to encourage our members, potential members and broadly all working class organisations and progressive civic formations and the poor to throw their weight behind this call and form part of all organised marches across the country.

We are determined to fight against rising levels of unemployment, poverty and inequalities, which, despite the recently-convened Jobs and Investments Summits led by the President of South Africa, and we see no signs of similar commitment within the organised economic sectors.

Equally, we believe that corruption is serious cancers that have the potential to erode all advances made and undermine all positive interventions, thus resolute in our conviction that corruption must be dealt with decisively where it rears its ugly head, both in the public and private sectors.

From time to time, the Union is called upon to defend members from the ferocious threats arising from the convenient and selfish application of Section 189 and 189 (A) of the LRA 66, of 1995, as amended, by employers, at the core of which are the dismissal of hundreds of workers. Leading in this attack is the Furniture Industry that wiped many Trading Brands in the past, and now analogous preoccupied the J.D. Group of companies, wherein, we on quarterly basis receive notice after notice of Section 189 and 189, with no meaningful effort from the employer to place on the table alternatives as conceived in the Job-Security-Agreement or the spirit and intent of the aforementioned Jobs and Investments Summits.

In our case, we observe reluctance even at the level of Investors to rescue companies with the track-record within the organised economic sectors such as EDCON Group of companies, the threat of which is nearly 140 000 jobs being on the line if no credible investor could be found. Our members, mainly drawn from poor working-class families, experience life below the poverty datum line throughout their existence, continue to be on the wrong end of the stick held by capital and captains of the industry. The threats of any job-losses mirror the sufferings of the toiling masses of the working class in the past under the apartheid Government, and now, the bleak and undesirable situation of possible unemployment is hanging over their head under the Democratic State regime.

We support the call on Investors to contribute towards the financing of job creation initiatives and efforts to hear favourably, presentations which are made in joint efforts by employers and employee representative organisations, as it is the case with the (UIF) Unemployment Insurance Fund and (PIC) Public Investment Corporation, wherein jointly Unions and Employers tabled a proposal to save jobs.

These two citations are reason enough to call, as we hereby do, all SACCAWU members to be in the forefront of the struggles for job creation and job security, and decent jobs that instil the human dignity of a working person in South Africa.

The quantum of intensifying social ills associated with the increasing levels of unemployment, poverty and inequalities, surely requires unity and cohesion of all segments of the working class and the poor, to wage a war against development that seeks to prioritize the capitalist interest domination over workers interests.

Issued by: SACCAWU Media

Mike Sikani

C: 082 336 8296 E: education@saccawu.org.za T: 011 4003 8333 Skype mike.sikani W: www.saccawu.org.za

For further Information:

Deputy General Secretary: Cde Mduduzi Mbongwe 0823365146