#SAFTUStrike: Workers strike against R20 p/hour
Scores of people from the city and surrounding took to the streets on Wednesday, 25 April to let their voices be heard about changes to the Labour and Minimum Wage legislation.
POLOKWANE – The march formed part of a national strike called by the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and residents marched from SABC Park to various government departments including the Department of Education and the Department of Social Development among others to hand over memorandums.
Read more: [LIVE] #SAFTUStrike underway at SABC Park
One of the main issues people wanted to be heard is the adjustment of the national minimum wage to R20 an hour as ‘no one can live on R20 or less an hour’.
Other unions that joined the march were the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), National Transport Movement (NTM) and the South African Policing Union (Sapu).
“We utterly reject the argument that this bill should be supported because ‘R20 an hour is better than nothing’,” Jack Sekwana, a Numsa representative, said.
Another hot topic during the march was child labour as a recent study by Statistics SA revealed 577 000 children in South Africa are being used for child labour.
In the memorandum, Saftu claims workers do not have the freedom to join the union of their choice as they are forced by employers to join only certain unions.
This, the union said, is in direct violation of the Labour Law.
Another violation of the Labour Law Saftu is demanding action on is the new legislation passed which includes new rules for strike notices which the unions say places more obstacles in the path of the workers in dispute.
An amendment on the ban of picketing unless there has been a picketing agreement is something the unions say they will not stand for. A bill changing ways that the CCMA does their business was also called out as unfair practice.
The unions appealed to parliament not to agree to the emasculation of the working class at the time when they should intervene to stop the workers falling into deepening poverty.
Demands in the memorandum include:
1. An end to the job losses deepened by the current wave of de-industrialisation.
2. The introduction of a wealth tax and the introduction of a solidarity tax.
3. Scrapping of VAT. Alternatively the reversal of the recent decision to increase VAT and increasing VAT on luxurious goods, in particularly on imported goods.
4. The review of the corporate taxes that were around 45% during the Apartheid era but driven down to around 28% during the era of democracy.
5. The review of personal income tax to ensure those who can, pay more and make more contributions to the ficus.
6. Capping and decreasing the salaries of those earning grotesque amounts not through declaration but practically.
7. The full implementation of the Freedom Charter Clause 3 and 4 on land sharing of the economy.
8. An end to corruption in the private and public sector.
9. The withdrawal of plans to privatise water in the Western Cape and the withdrawal of the threat of day zero.
10. We demand free, high quality decolonised public education at all levels.
11. We demand the scrapping of the e tolls and the introduction of a public transport system that is safe, accessible and affordable. We demand an end to the commodification of public infrastructure.
12. We demand decent and affordable houses next to our workplaces.
13. We demand a speedy introduction of the National Health Insurance and a comprehensive social security system that will be buttressed by a social wage as a deliberate strategy to relieve the poor and the working class from their burden of paying for such services as public transport, education and health care.
The departments that received the memorandum were given 14 days to reply to the demands.
