The 11th-hour delay of the anti-corruption protests stems from a blunder made by Numsa. The union apparently jumped the gun by announcing, along with its allies, a date for the action prior to being granted permission for it.
This is according to some senior unionists, including the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) general secretary, Dennis George, whose organisation is part of the Unite Against Corruption coalition behind the planned strike.
On Friday, the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) standing committee granted the union a strike certificate which is only valid from October 8, just a day after Numsa rivals, Cosatu’s planned mass action. The federation planned to protest against job cuts and other socio-economic issues on October 7.
George said Nedlac was correct in its handling of the process.
“The problem with Numsa was that it announced the date on which it was going to march,” he said. Another unionist who did not wish to be named, supported George, saying the standing committee had followed Nedlac’s protocols.
While Numsa said the decision, unfavourable for them, was made because Nedlac had been “captured by forces within and outside the government opposed to the march”, it appeared the metalworkers had shot themselves in the foot by assuming that a strike notice submission made on the September 15 would be considered on the same day.
The deciding body in Nedlac, however, only met on Friday and granted the union a strike certificate protecting all workers who planned to take part in the strike.
The problem for Numsa and the coalition was that the certificate becomes effective only 14 days after the approval date.
Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim criticised Nedlac’s decision, saying it was playing politics.
He stressed his union had followed all the correct procedures stipulated, yet their plans were frustrated while their opponents, Cosatu, seemed to have had no problems being granted a strike certificate.
“Cosatu’s action has been approved without any problems. We can see that it is political,” Jim said.
Cosatu and Numsa have been at odds for years, with the conflict culminating in the union’s expulsion from the labour federation last year.
The protests were also believed to be a platform through which either organisation would illustrate the amount of workers’ support they still enjoyed.
While more critical for Cosatu, the protest would be the first mass campaign since the organisation was embroiled in bitter squabbles at the expense of shop floor and socio-economic issues.
Numsa said it was seeking a legal opinion on the matter while consulting with the coalition on whether they should postpone the action or hand their fate over to the courts.
Independent Media understands that if Numsa chooses the court option, it would argue that Nedlac failed to inform it of the status of their application on the day the strike notice was put before the council.
They would also request that the 14-day countdown be backdated to the September 15 when the notice was submitted.
The Labour Relations Act stipulates that protest action in defence of the socio-economic interests of workers can be undertaken if a union or federation has served a notice on Nedlac, “at least 14 days before the commencement of the protest action”.
The insertion of “at least” in the section could prove problematic to the union, which had pinned its hopes of having 15 days between the day of the notice submission and the date on which they had planned to march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria and Parliament in Cape Town.
The union said the action attracted the backing of more than 230 organisations and 700 artists.
If the legal route fails, the coalition would be forced to postpone the marches or resort to an illegal strike action, an improbable step that would not receive the support of the protest’s biggest backers, Fedusa.
“We will properly advise our members not to undermine any procedures of any institutions or Nedlac, we will follow the law,” said George. Fedusa was expected to meet other members of the coalition today to decide on how to proceed. George said he was not too concerned about when exactly the march would take place.
Nedlac refused to respond to Numsa’s accusations.
Sunday Independent