Wednesday’s national strike action organised by trade federation Cosatu will affect all sectors of the economy. So said Cosatu’s general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali, as the union declared its readiness for a total shut down of the country in all 13 provinces. About 100 000 workers are expected to join tomorrow’s nationwide strike against corruption, state capture and job losses.
The strike is a protected one as Cosatu applied for a Nedlac a section 77 certificate. This means that workers who choose to strike will be protected from any disciplinary action. In Cape Town, a mass march will get underway at 11am at Keizergracht Street to Parliament.
Metrorail has confirmed that trains will operate tomorrow. Regional manager Richard Walker says not all Metrorail employees are unionised and no unionised employees are expected to participate in the protest action planned for tomorrow.
“Any participation will be on a ‘no work, no pay basis’,” he said.
Metrorail’s contingency plans will be activated “as matter of procedure” and it will monitor the situation on the ground.
Cosatu’s strike was prompted by revelations by the Public Protector that the current South African administration has been captured and that there is “a network of the predatory elite” that is engaged in looting of state resources and corrupt activities.
“In order to promote and defend the interests of workers, the working class and the poor, this perilous situation must be addressed forthwith by mobilising against this predatory elite and pushing for processes that will ultimately dismantle their network,” said the trade federation.
Cosatu will be making a series of demands during this upcoming strike and central to that will be implementation of the Public Protector’s recommendation regarding a Judicial Commission of Inquiry.
“We shall be using the strike to push President Jacob Zuma to establish the Judicial Commission of Inquiry. The federation shall be demanding that the state and all its institutions must refuse to deal with the predatory elite and in particular cancel all commercial dealings with the Gupta family.”
“There must be a process to identify all those involved in state capture and they also need to be similarly blacklisted. The Asset Forfeiture Unit must seize the assets of the Guptas if the probe proves that they were not legitimately secured.”
It has also called on the state to terminate all the so-called “commercial relations” with the Guptas’ network and the monies spent in these deals must be recovered.
All contracts which have been entered into with the Guptas, including mining licences, tenders, subsidies or other exercise of public power such as citizenships should be urgently reviewed by the Auditor General for irregularities, in order to develop a financial claim for monies corruptly secured.
“The monies to be recovered must be re-directed to implement projects addressing the plight of workers, the working class and the poor,” said the union.
It has also demand an investigation of the recent spate of Gupta related emails and all those implicated in them have to be suspended.
“Government Ministers who are implicated in alleged state capture activities must be urgently investigated and if no proper public explanation for their actions is acceptable they must be charged.”
The South Africa Communist Party is joining the mass action. First deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila urges even ANC members to participate, saying it is important to stop the looting of the state. VOC
