Corruption, taxi loads, and workers rights the focus of planned Cosatu protest action next week

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) intends to proceed with its protest action on 7 October, The Citizen reports.

The trade union said the protest comes after government’s failure to address “public transport challenges” in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic “and “to ensure a safer transport sector”.

Cosatu wants the following interventions:

• Load capacity of taxis to be immediately reduced from 100% to 70% as passengers are at risk;
• “The directive on the peak spreading must be implemented urgently as its delay promotes virus spreading”*
• And “a violence avoidance plan” put in place to eliminate the danger of violence that could break out due to the reduction in the loading capacity.

The trade union has called on all workers to support its “Socioeconomic Protest Action by engaging in various forms of protest” while observing social distancing regulations.

“The forms of protest action will involve motorcades, marches, demonstrations, pickets, placards demonstrations at national, provincial and local from the 223rd of September 2020.

“Extended lunchtime meetings, general meetings and breaks, extended by at least three hours on Fridays.

“Engagement of motorists, members of the public, other trade unions to inform them of the reasons for the protest action and to persuade to support the action.

“Engagement of motorists and other members of the public to inform them of the reasons for the protest action and to persuade to support the action.”

The socio-economic strike planned for 7 October will be a national stay away from work, a complete shutdown which will see all workers not reporting to their places of employ.

In a statement on Monday, Cosatu said it was “time we all stand up and demand urgent action from policymakers and decision-makers”.

Another issue that the trade union has raised is the “blatant undermining of collective bargaining” in the public service and widespread corruption in South Africa, including allegations of PPE corruption.

“This is the time for the trade union movement to take the lead in the fight against this looming collapse and push back against greed and mismanagement of the country. Our failure to take a stand and defend the interests of our members in the face of looting and mismanagement of the country would represent the worse form of cowardice that we would live to regret.”

Read the full statement here.

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