The Congress of South African Trade Unions in the North West province held a successful special meeting of its provincial executive committee. The meeting received a special presentation on the preparation for the National Day of Action of the 07th October 2020.
The Federation mourns the workers and citizens who succumbed to the Covid-19 pandemic and offer our condolences to the families. The meeting remembered the recently deceased President of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union, Comrade John Dlamini.
It also saluted all the frontline workers who are continuing to put their lives in danger to lead the fight against the deadly Covid-19 virus. It is criminal that these workers have to fight the virus and also fight their employer for failing to provide them with the necessary support and protection.
The meeting noted that the right to collective bargaining is under threat from both the public and private sector. Government is refusing to honour a signed agreement and many employers are opportunistically using the pandemic to retrench workers. This calls for a fightback.
We are also troubled by the scourge of corruption that is threating the survival of this country. The Federation is launching a war against corruption both the public and private sectors in the province.
We also noted the ever-increasing cases of gender-based violence. It is time for everyone to stand up and speak out against this cancer. To that effect, we will roll out a programme of action that will, among others, include motorcades, pickets, and marches to make the voices of workers and our communities heard.
We are calling on all workers to stay away from work and join the national day of action on the 07th October 2020. Let us all wage a war against:
· Corruption, for it compromises our jobs and steals from our people.
· Attacks on collective bargaining, for they undermine hard earned rights.
· Job losses and opportunistic retrenchments
· Gender-based violence
The Federation shall be engaging with our alliance partners, progressive civil society organisations, faith-based organisations, labour organisations, and Taxi Associations to join us in this fight.For more information please contact the COSATU North West Provincial Secretary, Cde Kopano Konopi at 082 339 5836