Cosatu targets four Eastern Cape cities for national strike

Public and private sector services in at least four Eastern Cape cities will come to a standstill on Wednesday as hundreds of workers are expected to join the national strike organised by Cosatu.
Public and private sector services in at least four Eastern Cape cities will come to a standstill on Wednesday as hundreds of workers are expected to join the national strike organised by Cosatu.
Image: FILE

Public and private sector services in at least four Eastern Cape cities will come to a standstill on Wednesday as hundreds of workers are expected to join the national strike organised by Cosatu.

Speaking on behalf of the union on Tuesday, Cosatu provincial secretary Mkhawuleli Maleki said their members would picket in King William's Town, Port Elizabeth, Komani and Mthatha on Wednesday morning. Other union confederations were also expected to join the marches.

The unions are protesting against rampant corruption, the looting of Covid-19 funds and the government’s failure to honour a 2018 wage agreement in the public sector.

Maleki said the marches would take place from 8am to 10am and a memorandum of demands would be handed to government officials, including Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane, in the afternoon.

In a statement, Cosatu national general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said measures would be taken to ensure members observed Covid-19 safety protocols.

“We have the responsibility not to undermine this fight against the deadly coronavirus that has killed so many of our compatriots. We will have socially-distanced pickets and motorcades across all the nine provinces and in many of our identified towns and cities.

“This will ensure that our workers are involved and able to participate from all over the country, but also that our activity does not spread this deadly virus.”

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