Shadley Nash
A national strike is looming in the chemical industry, should demands by workers for a centralised bargaining council not be met.
This warning was issued on Wednesday by Welile Nolingo, vice-president of the Chemical Workers and Industrial Union (CWIU), at a mass protest march in Port Elizabeth.
The union also used the opportunity to warn the government that two crucial and controversial issues — property rights and employer rights to lock out striking workers — should not be included in the final Constitution.
“We want Cyril [Ramaphosa] to know that this should not be included in the final constitution,” Nolingo told the workers.
In a memorandum to chemical industry employers, the union called for a central bargaining council with overriding powers over all industrial sectors. It warned that if a conciliation board did not resolve the issue a national strike was likely.
“Plant-based talks don’t work. They do not address the imbalances in the industry,” said Nolingo.
He said the restructuring and transformation of the country’s chemical industry should be discussed in a centralised forum so that there would be uniformity in the industry.
Nolingo said the union was sensitive to the need for industrial stability, but stressed that stability should not be attained “at the expense of workers”. — Ecna