Francesca Villette
RETRENCHMENT is a declaration of war on the working class and the poor, Public Works Minister and SACP deputy chairperson Thulas Nxesi said yesterday.
He was addressing about 2 000 Cosatu affiliate members after they had marched to Parliament.
Speaking in his capacity as an SACP member, Nxesi said in front of a spirited crowd the retrenchment of workers would increase poverty and inequality in the country.
“When there was a commodity boom in the mining industry, bosses alone enjoyed the wealth produced by the workers.
“But as soon as these sectors are in trouble, as is the case now, it is the workers alone who bear the brunt through retrenchment and casualisation.
“Retrenchment is a declaration of war on workers and the poor, and a total disregard and indifference by the capitalist bosses to the national imperative of fighting poverty,” Nxesi said.
The marchers participated in a national strike to demand a safe and affordable public transport system; the scrapping of e-tolls; for the National Treasury not to consider proposals to increase Vat; to stop retrenchment; and for the implementation of a national minimum wage.
In July, Cosatu launched an application to strike with the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), if urgent intervention in the transport sector was not implemented within one month.
Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said at the time thousands of workers were often late for work because trains were not on time, and it meant people lost a portion of their wages.
“We, the representatives of Cosatu, have come here to ventilate our anger against the fact that after all presentations and meetings we have held with government, our demand for the scrapping of e-tolls have not been heard,” an extract of the memorandum read.
Transport Department deputy director-general Mathabatha Mokonyama accepted the memorandum and said all those cited in the document would receive it and respond accordingly.
Ehrenreich said yesterday that according to research, most workers spent about 20 percent of their wages on transport.
“R1 of every R5 they earn is spent on transport. What that means is that you work for one week just to pay for your transport.
“The reason why transport costs are so high is because apartheid placed us far from where the workplaces are, and now we are forced to pay for that alone,” Ehrenreich said.
@FrancescaJaneV