Firms in the steel, metal and engineering sector in the Western Cape face a “high wire act” as conflicts over workplace racial practices were expected to intensify during COSATU one-day general strike on Thursday.
The National Union of Metalworkers Union of South Africa (NUMSA) said yesterday it targeted 500 companies where it is organized, to ensure members rallied in front of the worst racist companies to demand that racism end in the workplace.
“We have identified problems in our companies and the nature of the problem in most cases is that it affected all race groups of our societies and as we develop an anti-racism campaign we should start dealing with the demon in the workplace,” Western Cape NUMSA regional secretary Karl Cloete said.
NUMSA Western Cape region will take a lead in the national general strike on Thursday (May 18) in support of the COSATU jobs and poverty campaign aimed at highlighting massive job destruction and continued retrenchments in most manufacturing sectors.
The campaign which started last week will culminate on a one day work stayaway with marches and picket demonstrations by manufacturing sector unions, public service, and mining and private services unions in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth.
NUMSA also planned to selectively focus on industrial protest marches in the Cape Town Business Industry zones and in the remotest areas to demand the removal of labour brokers and an end to job casualisation.
The union will also target those companies which ignored health and safety practices in the workplace as assembly points for protest action.
For more information contact:
Mziwakhe Hlangani, NUMSA information officer
Cell phone: 082 9407116