'Striking is our thing‚' says Cosatu as protest triggers cat fight with Numsa

Trade federation Cosatu has slammed the National Union of Metal Workers of SA (Numsa) for labelling its planned national strike “an act of desperation”.

Numsa said it will not support Cosatu’s calls for a strike on Wednesday to protest against state capture.

Cosatu said it had not invited Numsa to join the strike in the first place.

“This is laughable because Cosatu is 32 years old and striking is our thing‚ that’s what we do‚ we strike. We used to take them serious but we stopped with that nonsense five years ago. They have at some point tried to come back to the federation. So who is desperate here? I mean‚ five years later they are still talking about us‚” said Cosatu national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla.

In response to whether the federation is fractured or not‚ Pamla said Cosatu had taken its time to rebuild itself and is confident that there are no divisions among its members.

Cosatu said it would make a series of demands during the upcoming strike‚ including that President Jacob Zuma appoint a judicial commission of inquiry to probe state capture‚ as directed by former public protector Thuli Madonsela.

Cosatu said the money recovered from those involved in state capture should be redirected to projects that address the plight of workers‚ the working class and the poor. The federation said it was in talks with big business to allow workers time out to join the strike.

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