Cosatu warns Post Office workers

Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini has cautioned dismissed SA Post Office workers in Johannesburg to be wary of divisions as they seek to be reinstated.

“Be careful of the wedge-driver. He is a person who walks among us carrying a wedge in his toolbox,” Dlamini told dismissed workers outside Sapo’s Witspos distribution centre on Tuesday.

He said when workers demanded something, it was not because they were mad, but rather because something had gone wrong.

A total of 588 Sapo workers were dismissed following an illegal strike caused by a fake court document which stated workers were owed significant amounts of money.

The workers are seeking to be reinstated to their old positions and given money they believe they are owed.

Dlamini said the Congress of SA Trade Unions could not sit quietly when such a large number of workers were dismissed.

Before he started speaking to workers, the Cosatu president was greeted with a cheer.

When Zanele Mpho, the deputy president of the Communication Workers Union, was introduced to the crowd, she was greeted with jeers.

After he addressed the crowd, Dlamini and Cosatu Gauteng chairman Bothas Zingi listened to and made notes of workers’ concerns.

One man, when it was his turn to speak, said he was “disgusted” to see CWU representation present.

Those concerns included dissatisfaction with CWU, backpay owed, and an opportunity to elect new union officials at all levels.

Dlamini said he understood worker concerns surrounding CWU — if legitimate — and the federation would work towards addressing them.

Workers indicated before Dlamini arrived that they were not interested in official union involvement.

The situation appeared to change after Dlamini’s intervention.