COSATU+General+Strike,+Jobs+and+Poverty+Campaign,+18+May+2006




 * Media Alert**

=COSATU General Strike – Jobs and Poverty Campaign – 18 May 2006=

Members of the unions affiliated to the Congress of South African Trade Unions will be mobilising for a general strike on Thursday 18 May and they will be thronging the streets of South Africa in their thousands to support the Jobs and Poverty Campaign.

Levels of unemployment and poverty in South Africa are totally unacceptable, and the poverty this causes is inflicting misery on millions of families. We are repeating our call for the crisis of joblessness to be declared a national emergency and for government and business to take far tougher measures to save and create jobs and to eradicate poverty. At a time when we are told the economy is booming, it is disgusting that so many of our citizens are living in abject poverty, primarily because they cannot find work, or have to survive in low-paid, insecure, temporary jobs.

We shall also be highlighting the new threat to our jobs and living standards posed by the draft WTO agreements on non-agricultural market access and services, which, unless drastically amended, will have a catastrophic impact on jobs and living standards in South Africa and other developing countries in the southern half of the world.


 * The latest details of the marches and rallies planned for 18 May are as follows. These will be updated throughout the week.** Please phone the designated contact person for local details.
 * **Province** || **Venue** || **Contact Person** || **Speaker** || **Designation** ||
 * **1. W. Cape** || Cape Town; || Tony Ehrenreich || Ebrahim Patel || SACTWU General Secretary ||
 * || Gather at Kaizerkragt and march to retailers and Parliament || 082 773 3194 || ||  ||
 * || Oudtshoorn || ||  ||  ||
 * || George || ||  ||  ||
 * **2. E. Cape** || Port Elizabeth; || Maleki || Mthuthuzeli Tom || NUMSA ||
 * || Gather at || 073 165 1116 || || President ||
 * || march to DOL || ||  ||  ||
 * || East London; || Isaac Khai || Silumko Nondwangu || NUMSA General ||
 * || Gather at North End Stadium and march to DOL || 072 129 3010 || Secretary ||
 * || Queenstown; || December || Tsidi || 1st Deputy President SADTU ||
 * || March to DOL || 082 496 5904 ||
 * || Mthatha; || Manelisi || Fikile Majola || NEHAWU General Secretary ||
 * || March to DOL || 083 766 2156 ||
 * **3. N. West** || Brits; || Jerry || Katishi Masemola || FAWU General Secretary ||
 * || March to Magistrate Court where MECs of Agriculture and Safety and Security will receive memorandums || 082 468 8316 || ||  ||
 * || Klerksdorp; || || Gwede Mantashe || NUM General Secretary ||
 * || March from bus rank to Shop-rite Checkers and Woolworths ||
 * || Mafikeng; || || Thulas Nxesi || SADTU General Secretary ||
 * || March to Legislature where the Premier will receive the memorandum ||
 * || Vryburg; || || Petrus Mashishi || SAMWU President ||
 * || March to Pick n Pay to hand over memorandum to DOL and Employer Association ||
 * || Lichtenburg; || || Phillip Khage || FAWU President ||
 * || March from Park Interior to hand memorandum to Agri-North West ||
 * || Rustenburg; || || Willie Madisha || COSATU President ||
 * || March from Olympia Stadium to Municipality to hand memorandum to Minister of Minerals and Energy ||
 * **4. Gauteng** || Johannesburg; || Siphiwe Mgcina || Zwelinzima Vavi || COSATU General Secretary ||
 * || Gather at Library Gardens and march targeting Clothing Bargaining Council, SEIFSA, Retailers, SAB and TELKOM || 082 465 8336 || ||  ||
 * **5. Limpopo** || Lephalale; || Alinah Rantsolase || COSATU National Treasurer ||
 * || March to DOL || ||  ||
 * || Polokwane; || || Mafalo || DENOSA President ||
 * || March to Safety and Security, SALGA and Amplants ||
 * || Thoyandou; || || Lulamile Sotaka || NEHAWU 1st President ||
 * || March to Government Offices ||
 * || Tzaneen; || || Thembeka Gwagwa || DENOSA General Secretary ||
 * || March to DOL ||
 * **6. Mpumalanga** || Nelspruit; || Norman Mokoena || Noluthando Sibiya || NEHAWU President ||
 * || Gather at Local Show Grounds and march to Government Complex || 082 563 6969 || ||  ||
 * **7. KZN** || Durban; || Zet Luzipho || June Dube || SATAWU President ||
 * || Gather at Curries Fountain and march to the City Hall (to pass the US Consulate || 072 884 3456 || ||  ||
 * **8. F. State** || Qwaqwa; || Moya || Joe Nkosi || COSATU 1ST Deputy President ||
 * || || 073 221 3357 ||  ||  ||
 * || Bloemfontein; || Thabo || Randall Howard || SATAWU General Secretary ||
 * || Gather PARKS Nova march to Business Chamber || 083 370 4563 ||
 * **9. N. Cape** || Kimberley; || Tsholo || Senzeni Zokwane || NUM President ||
 * || || 072 992 2009 ||  ||  ||
 * || Upington || Thami || Andrie Kriel || SACTWU ||
 * || 072 555 4235 || Deputy General Secretary ||
 * **6. Mpumalanga** || Nelspruit; || Norman Mokoena || Noluthando Sibiya || NEHAWU President ||
 * || Gather at Local Show Grounds and march to Government Complex || 082 563 6969 || ||  ||
 * **7. KZN** || Durban; || Zet Luzipho || June Dube || SATAWU President ||
 * || Gather at Curries Fountain and march to the City Hall (to pass the US Consulate || 072 884 3456 || ||  ||
 * **8. F. State** || Qwaqwa; || Moya || Joe Nkosi || COSATU 1ST Deputy President ||
 * || || 073 221 3357 ||  ||  ||
 * || Bloemfontein; || Thabo || Randall Howard || SATAWU General Secretary ||
 * || Gather PARKS Nova march to Business Chamber || 083 370 4563 ||
 * **9. N. Cape** || Kimberley; || Tsholo || Senzeni Zokwane || NUM President ||
 * || || 072 992 2009 ||  ||  ||
 * || Upington || Thami || Andrie Kriel || SACTWU ||
 * || 072 555 4235 || Deputy General Secretary ||
 * || Gather PARKS Nova march to Business Chamber || 083 370 4563 ||
 * **9. N. Cape** || Kimberley; || Tsholo || Senzeni Zokwane || NUM President ||
 * || || 072 992 2009 ||  ||  ||
 * || Upington || Thami || Andrie Kriel || SACTWU ||
 * || 072 555 4235 || Deputy General Secretary ||
 * || Upington || Thami || Andrie Kriel || SACTWU ||
 * || 072 555 4235 || Deputy General Secretary ||

Here are extracts from statement by COSATU affiliated unions saying why they are supporting the strike:

The largest union in fashion manufacturing called on its 110 000 members to support the call for a national strike on 18 May and we call on the public to show solidarity with some of the lowest paid workers in manufacturing who will demonstrate against job losses on Thursday.
 * SACTWU**

Fashion and design are glamorous but the reality of unemployment and low wages is the very opposite. Over the past three years, more than 62 000 clothing, textile and footwear jobs have been lost as a result mainly of imports from China. Workers eke out a living on less than R100 a day in many parts of the country and yet jobs continue to be lost through the increasing tendency of retailers to import.

We expect many thousands of workers to withdraw their labour as a symbolic action to draw attention to their plight. Workers will take part in marches and demonstrations in all the major cities and will deliver memoranda to large retail houses. We expect large industrial areas to empty when workers clock out on Thursday in support of the strike.


 * NUMSA**

The country’s largest metalworkers’ union, NUMSA, is preparing to square up in the Eastern Cape with Daimler Chrysler South Africa and leather seat manufacturer Johnson Controls SA, among others, in protest against alleged retrenchments threats of 320 workers and plans to relocate both companies to Germany and North America, respectively.

What has infuriated metalworkers is the way Daimler Chrysler and BMW forced Johnson Controls to cede its export certificate and they themselves took over the shipping of the leather seats to North America and Germany in the name of Johnson Controls in order to cream off profits through Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) benefits provided by government.

NUMSA in KwaZulu-Natal has singled out Mittal in Newcastle, Bell Equipment in Richards Bay and Daimler Chrysler warehouse in Pinetown, among others, as rallying centres of protest action to demand an end to reported racial practices by management, ill-treatment and sacking of union shop stewards.

It is the most abominable racial practices in Bell Equipment which resulted in shop stewards being dismissed because of a petition and the local chairperson to be suspended when they complained on behalf of workers that white racist supervisors who forced our members to clock out when they respond to natural calls in toilets should be disciplined.


 * SADTU**

SADTU will be participating fully in the one-day strike called by COSATU on Thursday May 18th. The strike is part of the ongoing COSATU campaign to highlight the continuing jobs bloodbath and resulting mass poverty. Four out of ten workers are unemployed. This places a huge burden on those who remain in employment to support – on average - 8 dependents. As SADTU we will be striking in solidarity with our fellow workers – both employed and unemployed. As educators located in the public service we have also developed a set of demands which address the problems in the education sector. We take the view that total employment in the education sector and conditions of education workers are closely bound up with the wider struggles for educational and social transformation.

Our goal – drawn from the pages of the Freedom Charter – is the achievement of “free and equal quality public education”. To achieve this goal – amongst other things – we need adequate staffing levels and well-trained and motivated educators; summed up in the slogan of a recent World Teachers Day as: “quality teachers for quality education.”

COSATU North west members will embark on a legal and protected strike on 18 May to challenge government, employers and other organisations which continue to:
 * COSATU North West**
 * Victimise workers,
 * Practice racism,
 * Retrench workers,
 * Use casualisation
 * Continue to assault, kill and evict farm workers.

We will also march to the magistrate court to demand that all employers or farmer owners who are reported to police station and no action is taken against the culprit are all released without appearing to court that must came to an end.

The COSATU North West marches will be as follows;


 * RUSTENBURG**: from Olympia Stadium to the municipality, which will be mostly the mine workers from Carletonville, Matlosane and Rustenburg. Memorandums will be delivered to the Minister of Mineral and Energy, the Chamber of Mines, the Department of Labour and employers’ associations.


 * VRYBURG**: the march will start from Huhudi Stadium to Pick’n’ Pay also employers and Government will receive the memorandum.


 * MATLOSANA**: from the Matlosana Taxi Rank to Shoprite Checkers. Employers and the Department of Labour will receive the memorandum.


 * BRITS**: from the Bus Rank to the Magistrates Court. Employers, the Department of Labour and the MEC of Safety and Security will receive the memorandum.


 * MAFIKENG**: from Montshioa Stadium to the Legislature. Employers, the Department of Labour and the Premier will receive the memorandum.


 * LICHTENBURG**: from Lichtenburg Park to the office of Agri North West. The Agri North West employers, the Department of Labour and the MEC of Agriculture will receive the memorandum.

We are demanding that no worker should be intimidated, victimised, dismissed or harassed for participating to the protected strike.

For further information please phone the COSATU Provincial Secretary, Solly Phetoe on 018 462 2406 or 082 304 4055.


 * Patrick Craven (Editor, Shopsteward Journal)**
 * Congress of South African Trade Unions**
 * 1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets**
 * Braamfontein, 2017**


 * P.O.Box 1019**
 * Johannesburg, 2000**
 * South Africa**


 * Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24**
 * Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940**
 * E-Mail: patrick@cosatu.org.za