Johannesburg - As workers and civil society are rallied to join the upcoming South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) nationwide strike on Wednesday, here's what you need to know about the strike.
Saftu on Monday announced it would embark on a general strike over what it terms "the biggest attacks on working-class people, trade unions and the poor" since the end of apartheid.
Saftu further added that it would rally its affiliates and allies in civil society to demand "action to end the country’s crisis of unemployment, poverty and inequality".
Saftu acting spokesperson Patrick Craven said they were expecting their protest action to be the start of a long struggle to stop legislations which make life “even worse” for the majority of workers.
“That’s the real economic crisis, not what’s happening on the stock exchange and we’re a convinced that a law that legitimises poverty pay at the terrible level of R20 an hour will have a very negative effect.
“The effect on the economy is that the number of people living in poverty is so high that it creates the biggest single problem which is that a vast number of people, at least 50 percent if not more, have so little money to spend that they’re not really part of the economy,” Craven said.
Members of the public were also assured that the strike would be peaceful and orderly and that there was no reason for danger.
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Here are some of the things you need to know about the strike:
* The strike is over the "poverty" national minimum wage, amendments to labour laws as well as economic challenges facing workers and the poor.
* Meeting points include Johannesburg, Cape Town, East London, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Polokwane and Bloemfontein but Saftu added, that additional marches would take place in other locations.
* The strike is expected to begin at 10am.
* The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and The Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) have indicated that they will not join the strike.
* Some Saftu affiliates expected to join the strike include the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and The Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu).
* Transport will be available for marchers taking part in the strike.
* Participants in the various provinces will be marching to local government offices.