Labour federation Cosatu has started with the process of declaring a full-blown strike in an attempt to force the government to repeal the contentious tax reform bill signed into law by President Jacob Zuma.
The federation’s general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said they have already issued a call to all its affiliates to mobilise workers and their families to come out and protect their savings and livelihoods.
He said they were determined to “wage‚ and win‚ this fight” and called for worker unity around this particular issue.
“We are busy finalising our application for Section 77 Notice that will allow us to go on a full blown strike‚” Ntshalintshali said.
He said the federation had been very patient on this issue and believed that the National Treasury’s “intransigence“‚ signalled that the worst was still to come. Ntshalintshali said this was the signal that more laws could be enacted to intervene in workers’ and individual rights.
“An overbearing state is dangerous especially if it is unilaterally taking decisions and undermining democratic institutions like NEDLAC (a negotiating forum‚ the National Economic Development and Labour Council). The best defence against all this is an assertive and united workforce‚” he said.
Speaking following the federation’s deliberations on the amendments in Pretoria on Thursday‚ he claimed there had not been a proper consultation process over this issue at NEDLAC‚ which he said was the only recognised structure for all social partners to discuss issues of this nature. “We only discovered during those informal discussions that they had sneakily smuggled preservation in this draft bill and that is when we made it clear that we were going to oppose this with our all might‚” he said.
He charged that with the amendments‚ government wanted to subsidise white people because white people lived longer than black people. “We reject the notion that workers‚ black workers in particular‚ cannot manage their financial affairs. This condescending law is not only an insult to workers but smacks of colonial attitude of saving natives from themselves‚” he said.
Cosatu threatens full-blown strike over tax reform bill
The federation’s general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said they have already issued a call to all its affiliates to mobilise workers and their families to come out and protect their savings and livelihoods.
He said they were determined to “wage‚ and win‚ this fight” and called for worker unity around this particular issue.
“We are busy finalising our application for Section 77 Notice that will allow us to go on a full blown strike‚” Ntshalintshali said.
He said the federation had been very patient on this issue and believed that the National Treasury’s “intransigence“‚ signalled that the worst was still to come. Ntshalintshali said this was the signal that more laws could be enacted to intervene in workers’ and individual rights.
“An overbearing state is dangerous especially if it is unilaterally taking decisions and undermining democratic institutions like NEDLAC (a negotiating forum‚ the National Economic Development and Labour Council). The best defence against all this is an assertive and united workforce‚” he said.
Speaking following the federation’s deliberations on the amendments in Pretoria on Thursday‚ he claimed there had not been a proper consultation process over this issue at NEDLAC‚ which he said was the only recognised structure for all social partners to discuss issues of this nature. “We only discovered during those informal discussions that they had sneakily smuggled preservation in this draft bill and that is when we made it clear that we were going to oppose this with our all might‚” he said.
He charged that with the amendments‚ government wanted to subsidise white people because white people lived longer than black people. “We reject the notion that workers‚ black workers in particular‚ cannot manage their financial affairs. This condescending law is not only an insult to workers but smacks of colonial attitude of saving natives from themselves‚” he said.
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