Hundreds of workers march for end to pay freeze

Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and affiliated union members marched to the Civic Centre in Cape Town on Thursday. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

• COSATU members and affiliated unions held demonstrations across the country on Thursday.
• The one-day strike also commemorates World Day for Decent Work launched in 2008 by the International Trade Union Confederation.
• They are calling for the government and private sector to lift freezes on wages.
• They also called for more to be done against gender-based violence, the scrapping of e-tolls in Gauteng, and for health workers to be further remunerated.

Hundreds of Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and affiliated union members marched in several cities on Thursday, calling for the government and the private sector to lift freezes on wages among other demands.

The one-day strike also commemorated World Day for Decent Work launched in 2008 by the International Trade Union Confederation.

In a statement, COSATU said, “We want the reversal of budget cuts that led to an unacceptable wage freeze in public service, the disintegration of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), and retrenchments in State-Owned Companies.”

COSATU also wants the private sector to abandon its investment strike. “This year billions were given away in tax cuts when that money could have been used to increase government spending.”

In Cape Town, about 300 people marched to the Civic Centre. Xolisile Guwa of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) said, “Employers are not always willing to give or negotiate wage increases. And when they do, it’s below inflation.”

He said that budget cuts to institutions negatively “impacted the functionality and efficiency of labour dispute resolutions”.

Provincial secretary for SA Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) Jonovon Rustin said severely overcrowded classrooms meant teachers are not working in a conducive environment. “Schools in wealthier suburbs can go online from home during this pandemic whereas children from underprivileged schools don’t have the resources or data to do the same,” said Rustin.

Following the deadly shooting of a grade 6 teacher at Heinz Park Primary in Philippi last month, Rustin said unions are also calling on government to provide adequate security in schools.

Protesters handed over a memorandum to the City’s Employee Relations Manager, Justice Nedzamba, who accepted on behalf of Mayor Dan Plato.

The protesters are demanding a moratorium on all shop stewards’ disciplinary hearings due to inconsistencies, and that all dismissed members be reinstated. They are also calling for an end to the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and that the City instead fill at least 10,000 permanent low-level vacancies. They want the City to implement a multi-year wage increase agreement.

“I will study the memo and then we will make a decision. We will also be releasing a media statement with a response,” said Nedzamba. The City has 14 days to respond.

In Johannesburg, a hundred workers gathered at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown. The group marched to Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s office, near the square to hand over a memorandum.

It included the following demands: an end to the “butchering of collective bargaining”, for the government to strengthen its efforts to combat gender-based violence, and the scrapping of e-tolls in Gauteng.

Louisa Modikwe, COSATU Gauteng secretary, read out the memorandum and gave the government 14 days to respond. Transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo accepted the memo and signed on behalf of the premier. The same memorandum was also handed over to officials at the Minerals Council South Africa in Marshalltown.

Speaking to workers Mamabolo said, “We are united in the call for the scrapping of e-tolls because they are underperforming on their own target of generating revenue.”

Mamabolo said the Gauteng government has made a submission to national government on e-tolls, proposing “more efficient ways of raising revenue to grow the road network”.

COSATU officials also expressed their solidarity with NUMSA steelworkers who are currently on strike.

Chris Malemetja, chairperson of the South African National Civic Organization (SANCO) in Gauteng also called on David Makhura to release lifestyle audits on his staff members. Photo: Masego Mafata

In Gqeberha, over 150 people dressed in red marched to the City Hall at Vuyisile Mini Square.

National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU)’s Nyameka Macanda said nurses should be compensated for the risks they took during the pandemic.

“More than three million people have lost jobs as a result of Covid-19 pandemic. This means many people are unemployed. As COSATU we must defend jobs.

“We are asking the government to give a token of appreciation towards healthcare workers and other workers but our calls are falling on deaf ears.”

A nurse at Dora Nginza Hospital, who asked to remain anonymous, said the working conditions were improving albeit at a slow pace. “The government should hire more staff to address the staff shortage. This is affecting our morale.”

NEHAWU Gqeberha Chairperson Phumzile Mdunyelwa said, “We are also here to lobby for the improvement of working conditions for women. There are lots of sex pests at work. Some senior managers and foremen demand sex from women before they hire or promote them. We want this to end.”

The group handed a memo to an official of the Department of Employment and Labour.

Workers marched through Gqeberha on a one-day strike on Thursday. Photo: Joseph Chirume

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