SACCAWU+Press+Statement+on+Trading+on+1st+of+March

=****SACCAWU Press Statement on Trading on the 1st of March****=

We have been advised by our members that Retailers like Shoprite/Checkers, Clicks and Edcon will be trading on the 1st of March, the day of the Local Government Elections. We have also been advised that management has threatened those who will be exercising their right to vote, instead of going to work, with disciplinary action. This once more demonstrates the unpatriotic conduct of the Retail bosses. Whilst the holiday was meant to ensure that workers exercise their right to vote, retailers have decided to continue with their normal business.

Trading on the 1st of March will have an impact on the ability of retail workers to exercise their right to vote. Some retailers have indicated that they will be closing at 18h00 whilst voting will close at 19h00. It is most unfortunate that such retailers do not appreciate the fact that workers enjoy fundamental rights enshrined in the Bill of rights, including the right to vote.

It is also unfortunate that most workers stay away from their workplaces due to our ugly past and the notorious Group Areas Act of the Apartheid Regime. It is also a known fact that transport is not easily accessible on public holidays since workers in most sectors of the economy do not work on such holidays. Most workers are in a less fortunate position in that after long hours of work they still have to rely on taxis for their transport home, unlike the flamboyant managers who simple jump into their flashy cars and go to their nearby suburbs.

Whilst we cannot deny retailers the right to trade we believe that they have no right to compel workers to come to work on public holidays, especially on a holiday which was informed by the need to ensure that workers are able to exercise their right to vote.

The Union is monitoring the situation closely and will not hesitate in calling for a programme of sustained mass action against any employer who prevents workers from exercising their right to vote on the 1st of March. The capitalist greed for profit should not prevent workers from exercising their rights.

Secretariat Admin 11 Leyds Street 2nd Floor, SACCAWU House BRAAMFONTEIN TEL: (011) 403 8333 FAX: (011) 403 0309**
 * Dimakatso Ndumndum


 * Combat Casualisation & Poverty, Consolidate Working Class Power to Advance the Vision of the Freedom Charter!**

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