Johannesburg - The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) says Wednesday's protected march against corruption is meant to harm both the public and private sectors where it hurts most.
The union plans to lead thousands of workers through the streets of Johannesburg to capture the attention of both business and government.
The action is protected in line with Section 77 of the labour relations act, meaning workers who take part in the marches will be protected from disciplinary action by bosses.
The strike is also expected to hit the economy hard, during a sensitive period when every second of production counts towards the survival of struggling companies.
This comes just a few months after Numsa, other unions, government and business signed an agreement to work together to prevent further job losses in SA’s hard-hit steel sector.
Numsa said it has pulled out all the stops to ensure it had a bigger impact than the Unite Against Corruption march and Cosatu’s socio-economic march held last week.
The organisation said it had mobilised all its members, civil society groups, religious bodies and the unemployed to take part in the action.
“We do this because we want to send a signal. That if we can’t be heard, let us hurt you where it hurts the most,” said Numsa deputy general secretary, Carl Kloete.
Workers taking part in the Numsa march are expected to gather at the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown tomorrow morning ahead of the march to the Chamber of Mines and the SA Reserve Bank.
The union said it could not afford to hold marches in other cities across the country but hoped workers would stay-away from their places of employment in solidarity with those who would be marching in Johannesburg.
Labour Bureau