Durban - Thousands of union members are expected to march to the SAPS headquarters in Bram Fischer Road tomorrow.
Speaking to IOL ahead of the march, Cosatu KZN provincial secretary, said while other smaller pickets have been planned for parts of the province, the main programme will take place in Durban.
He said the issues they were fighting against prevailed despite the rain so even if it rains tomorrow, the march will go ahead.
"We will meet at Curries Fountain at 11am and proceed to the parking lot near the George Campbell School. Thereafter we will make our way to the Servamus Building where we will hand over our petitions to officials from the offices of the SAPS, Premier, Business Chamber, Labour Department and CCMA," he said.
Mkhize said union members from Port Shepstone, Pietermaritzburg, Ixopo, Richards Bay, Empageni, Mandeni, KwaDukuza, Ndwedwe, Pinetown and Isipingo will join the picket.
Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said the federation was encouraging workers in the public and private sector to down tools and stay away from work for the day as part of expressing their discontent with malfeasance and the country’s socio-economic trajectory.
“We need to take a stand and push back against this flagrant theft of taxpayer funds and the disgraceful abandonment of the working class by policymakers and decision makers. The only way to undo this corrupt system is through disruption and non-co-operation and obstruction,” Ntshalintshali said.
The Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC has expressed concerns about the effect that the planned industrial action will have on South African businesses and entrepreneurs both in the formal and informal sectors.
Durban Chamber President, Nigel Ward, said the concern was over the detriment to the country’s economy.
“Given our ailing economy, in which businesses are battling to survive, every trading and manufacturing day counts. Businesses in the eThekwini Municipality, regardless of size, are facing difficult challenges brought on by the pandemic, while still endeavouring to sustain operations and deliver on their business obligations, not least of which is the imperative to return to profitability in order to save jobs,” he said.
Ward said while they supported all employees’ right to express their grievances, it is feared that planned protest action coming at this specific juncture will only place added pressure on the economy.
“Retail data already indicates depressed consumer spending which is difficult to revive in an environment of uncertainty,” he said
IOL