The COSATU Public Service unions in KwaZulu Natal welcome the call for a National Day of Action over public service wage negotiations’ impasse made by the union’s national structures today in Pretoria. In response to this call, we intend to intensify our ongoing mobilisation in support of this upcoming action.

Our structures in the province have been busy with the mobilisation since the collapse of the conciliation process at the PSCBC. We have now decided to elevate our mobilisation program by galvanising support in our communities who will be the blameless victims of a full-blown strike.

The anger of our members is justified considering that government reneged on honouring the last leg of Resolution 1 of 2018 two years ago. We view the unilateral implementation of a 3% increase as provocative and an attempt to undermine collective bargaining and liquidate unions.

We understand that we enjoy the rights we defend and lose those that we fail to defend.  We are not going to sit idle while our members are treated like glorified slaves and the LRA is torn into shreds.

In preparation for the announced National Day of Action, we shall continue with our mobilization plan which consist of lunch-hour pickets, general meetings, joint-town based meetings and shop steward’s constituency meetings.

Our planned programme in the province on the 22nd is as follows:

A provincial march in Durban starting from King Dinuzulu Park and proceeding through Dr. Pixley Ka Seme Street to Marine Building, a government building in Dorothy Nyembe Street. The memorandum of demands will be handed over to the Premier, Hon. Nomusa Dube-Ncube.

We call upon all our members and society in general to support this action because a strike will cripple services and punish the innocent citizens. We all need to stand up and fight against a system that gives tax cuts to corporations while scapegoating the public servants.

We have to defend the nurses who fought hard to save lives during COVID-19, the teachers who teach our kids under difficult circumstances, the poorly equipped police officers who put everything on the line to maintain law and order, and all public servants who deliver services to our communities without fail. The message is clear, if we fail to fight, we will all be crushed and our biggest weapon in the armoury is our unity.

Issued by:

The Joint Mandating Committee under

COSATU KwaZulu Natal

NEHAWU, POPCRU, DENOSA, SAEPU, PAWUSA and SAMATU

For more information, please contact: 

Edwin Mkhize COSATU KZN Provincial Secretary

082 399 7756