The National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (Numsa) has asked its members not to participate in the planned national strike by Cosatu.
In a statement, Numsa called on workers to not give up a day’s wages to help the leadership of Cosatu fulfil a narrow political agenda.
“Workers should not sacrifice their earnings for a Cosatu leadership which has sold out the working class, just so that it can have access to a corrupt ANC leadership and its patronage networks,” Numsa said in a statement.
According to Numsa, the decision by Cosatu to go on strike is an attempt to distract from its glaring failure as a labour movement. Numsa said Cosatu has been unable to influence the ANC to change its disastrous economic policies and to get it to stop pandering to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and rating agencies.
“Despite the presence of labour in the alliance, the ANC has introduced e-tolls, labour brokers and the youth wage subsidy. The once mighty federation has been downgraded to a labour desk which the ANC government uses to legitimise capitalist economic policies which are an attack on the working class,” Numsa said.
Numsa said 27 September will be spent just like any other day, fighting to improve the working conditions of the working class.
Numsa said its members and members affiliated to South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) should wait for the federation’s call for a national strike against job losses, neo-liberal policies, corruption, the national minimum wage as well as governments attempt to tamper with the worker’s right to strike.
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