Cosatu refuses to toe ANC line
Image by: Daniel Born
Barely a month after the ANC's elective conference, Cosatu - the ruling party's biggest partner in its tripartite alliance - has signalled that the Mangaung honeymoon is over.
The trade union federation plans to take to the streets later this week in a bid to halt state-owned Eskom's proposed price increases after a deadlock with the government over the issue.
Cosatu has also threatened that it will "occupy the highways" from next month to sink the Treasury and SA National Roads Agency's plans to start e-tolling Gauteng freeways.
The Cosatu threats are being made as Sasolburg continues to reel in the aftermath of protests against the local government, and as farmers in Western Cape are rebuilding their lives after weeks of violent strikes.
Dumisani Dakile, the trade union federation's Gauteng secretary, yesterday warned that its members would bring the "government and capital" to a standstill when it takes up the cause of "the poor" in the country's economic heartland.
This would be the second time Cosatu has opposed the government in less than two months.
On December 6, major freeways across Gauteng came to a near standstill when it mounted a "drive-slow" campaign on roads earmarked for e-tolling.
Cosatu has slammed the National Energy Regulator for not holding its public hearings in poor areas.
The regulator is mulling a request by Eskom that it be allowed to increase average electricity prices by 16% a year for the next five years, doubling the cost to consumers.
Cosatu is to make representations to Nersa later this week.
"Our members and all progressive forces will be demonstrating in big numbers against the proposed increase," said Dakile.
There has been widespread public anger over reports that average salaries at Eskom are in excess of R600 000 a year and are to rise by nearly a third.
It has been reported that Eskom is budgeting R37-billion for the salaries of its 45600 employees.
The National Union of Metalworkers, the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers' Union, and the Food and Allied Workers' Union yesterday said that they would picket the venue in Midrand at which the Nersa hearings will be held on Thursday.
"Our bottom line is that Nersa should not grant Eskom the yearly 16% average increase that the utility is asking for. Our position is that Eskom must be given an inflation-related adjustment for three years and not five years, as proposed in the application," the three unions, all Cosatu affiliates, said.
They warned of job losses and business closures if the price increases were approved.
Large industrial users of electricity have cautioned that the price increases would "de-industrialise" the country.
The unions plan protests not only against Gauteng's proposed e-tolling but against e-tolling nationwide.
"These are not only Cosatu matters; these are societal issues," said Dakile.
He and Cosatu provincial chairman Phutas Tseki equated e-tolls to apartheid, saying they divided people into those who can afford to make use of the highways and those who cannot.
The union federation has called for three days of protest - the first on February 11.
The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance was last week granted leave to appeal a December ruling by the high court.
Outa said on Friday that "there is no doubting that society has overwhelmingly rejected [e-tolling ] as too expensive, inefficient, unworkable and a most irrational waste of their money".
There is no formal link between Outa and Cosatu.
Labour tensions were cited by ratings agencies when they downgraded South Africa's sovereign debt. Both the Reserve Bank and the IMF last week cut their forecasts for the this country's economic growth.
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Posted 112 days agoGood2go
LarryLachman
pierre.mare1
RSA.MommaCyndi
Posted 112 days agofransvan_erk
Posted 112 days agoRSA.MommaCyndi
Wiseguy
Posted 112 days agoDoes anyone think there may be room(in our maturing society) for discussions around matters of MASSIVE public expenditure BEFORE decisions are taken ? Anyone?
Black-Moses
Posted 112 days agoDuzula
Posted 112 days agoLarryLachman
Mike123
TjoVtjo
Posted 112 days agoThe "poor" have clearly demonstrated that they can take care of their own issues. Trade unions are dead in an environment where many don't work, or work outside of labour structures, and the ANC knows that full well. Some might even argue that this situation of unemployment is the work of the very trade unions making unrealistic and unsustainable demands on employers. So keep talking yourselves out of the next cabinet reshuffles. Less headaches for the Zoom Zoom.
skhokho12
Posted 112 days agoRSA.MommaCyndi
The FINAL for the actual TV advert was scripted and took parts out of all of the UN-scripted messages. That, apparently, is why I was so confused by the uproar. It had nothing to do with the actual advert that was on TV. Their complaint was about the unscripted comments on the website
shelatt
The Corruption party does not care a hoot for these people, and here is the proof. The salary bill for the two hundred odd (mostly corrupt) ministers et al runs into the hundreds of millions each year. They do not EARN this, they TAKE it for the least amount of work. How is it possible that Zuma (and his wives) earns more than Obama, the most powerful leader in the world....Come on you moronic Corruption supporters, make me understand why he deserves it. And what's the president of our country doing being a member or director of an untold number of companies and CC's. Does he not receive enough to stave off hunger and misery? It’s absolutely disgusting that he can take in all this money from the tax payers while the poor and indigent (who by the way helped him get voted in) suffer interminably. In fact to put it more succinctly , any politician who has ever indulged in the splurging of taxpayers’ money on self-indulgent pursuits is a disgusting lump of putrid faeces who should be stripped of everything they own and forced to live in a squatter shack for the rest of their lives. Wow, I’ve just realised the whole cabinet of Corruption will have to be moved to what would become the most well known squatter camp in the world....!!!
So you see dumb asses, by voting for these a-holes you are allowing the rape to continue. Having said this I realise there are certain people who HAVE to vote for the Corrupt....those that are already entwined in the quagmire that has been formed over the last few years and who rely on the largesse bestowed on them for playing the money and power game of the untouchables! Are YOU one of those leeches sucking up to the top six????
Now, one of the (unintelligent) arguments over “ who else to vote for...” can be solved right here...If you want to be guaranteed things like service delivery, a decent life for all, top class education among many others, all you need do is threaten the Corrupt with a loss of power. That’s all, just let their majority in parliamentary drop below 60% and watch the change happen instantly!!! Make them realise that power can be removed at the cross of a pen. At the next election arrange with groups of people you associate with to vote for various smaller parties like the ACDP etc so that not one party becomes too dominant. The worst thing you can do is to NOT vote. It is construed as voter apathy and not anti ANCorruption.
Another thought to ponder....What could be so wrong with giving another party just 4 years to prove itself? The Corruption party has taken nearly 20 years to fix poverty with negative results (more poor now than before 1994)and not forgetting losing 30 billion bucks per year to fraud and corruption!!
In just 4 years you can just as easily vote them out if you are not satisfied...simple! Realistically the only party who could make the changes you want is the DA, considering they have a fairly good track record in the Cape....I do also believe that most politicians lie and steal but as long as we have press freedom and involved citizens we can keep it in check.
Go on, give them 4 years, (it’s not a lifetime) and let’s see what they can do!!!!
Stirrer
Posted 112 days agoFrequency of bucket system removal in some parts of the land!