The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in Limpopo was expected to host the provincial leg of the organisation’s national strike against various issues that include retrenchments, job losses, crime and corruption as well as occupational health and safety for workers on Tuesday.
The union, supported by other workers unions, were anticipated to rally in Thohoyandou from where they would march to the local Police Station and the head offices of Vhembe District Municipality to hand over copies of a memorandum of grievances.
Cosatu provincial leaders Gerald Twala and Solly Phetoe could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print.
However, the union’s national Spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said in a statement that the strike was about demanding that 2019 marks a turning point in the long trajectory of self-destruction of the government since 1996 to a new path of a people-centred development trajectory and a disciplined revolutionary movement.
He stated that the union had noted the latest Statistics South Africa quarterly labour force survey for the fourth quarter of 2018 that shows that the country had concluded the previous year with an unemployment rate of 27,1%.
“This vindicates our position that there is no plan from the policy makers to solve our stubborn unemployment rate.
Learners in many schools across the province had to miss lessons on Tuesday as scores of educators had reportedly gone to join the march.
Important and progressive policies that could help tackle the crisis of unemployment, inequality and poverty have been promised without being implemented after elections in the past, he stressed.
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) provincial Secretary Jacob Adams indicated that the union would support the march and also reckoned that the exercise was taken to Thohoyandou because of the recent killings of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union provincial deputy secretary, Ronald Mani and its former provincial chairperson Timson Tshililo.
Story: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za
