Cosatu will embark on a major campaign in the last four months of this year in support of its demand for a living wage and the banning of labour brokers, and to oppose the electronic tolling of roads, Walmart’s takeover of Massmart and the relaxation of labour laws.
The trade union federation said on Thursday it would on Friday also kick off a campaign in Polokwane, Limpopo, against corruption by marching to the offices of the premier, the SAPS, the SA Revenue Service and the SA Local Government Association.
The statement was issued after a three-day meeting of the federation’s central executive committee.
On the Walmart issue, Cosatu said the proposed retrenchment by Pick n Pay of 3 137 workers was “clearly an attempt to anticipate the arrival of Walmart in South Africa”.
The federation said the retailer had compounded its problems by spending R110 million on rebranding itself, an amount that Cosatu described as exorbitant.
“Yet they blame their increased costs on the high number of workers.”
Cosatu said its affiliate, the SA Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu), had confirmed that Pick n Pay was in talks with Tesco, a UK retail group, “about ‘efficiencies’ they would expect from Pick n Pay”.
Pick n Pay spokeswoman Tamra Veley said Tesco executives had visited the local retail group five months ago to look at its new-generation store at the corner of William Nicol and Republic roads in Hurlingham, Joburg.
“They are not talking to Pick n Pay,” Veley said.
Cosatu said it would consider Saccawu’s call for a national boycott of Pick n Pay and a march to the house of founder Raymond Ackerman.
The federation is planning a mass strike on October 5 if business, the government, labour and civil society representatives at Nedlac fail to reach agreement on the banning of labour brokers.
On initiatives to mitigate the impact of climate change, Cosatu said the transition to a low-carbon economy must not be at the expense of workers or developing countries.
The federation called on industrialised countries to pay for the damage their development had done to Earth’s atmosphere.
“A just transition provides the opportunity for deeper transformation that includes the redistribution of power and resources towards a more just and equitable social order.
“The central executive committee emphasised the importance of creating new ‘green jobs’ before we can accept cuts in existing jobs,” Cosatu said. - The Star