The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will start strike action — against continuing job losses — on June 27 in a programme of action that will run into February next year.
At a press conference in Johannesburg on Thursday, secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi called for strong measures to end the overvaluation of the rand and for the government to review its trade strategy.
He said Cosatu is willing to negotiate around the figure of R9 or R10 to the dollar.
How much the interest rate should change could also be subject to discussions, he said.
”With it now at 7% and inflation at around 3,5%, we believe the gap remains too high and must be closed.”
On the crisis presented by the flooding of cheap imports, especially clothing, Cosatu said: ”The World Trade Organisation provides for special safeguard measures to protect industries under threat from Chinese imports, or from elsewhere.”
These measures must be applied urgently to save the clothing industry, Vavi said.
He called on the government to initiate safeguard measures to protect vulnerable industries, ”or as a minimum allow unions to apply for them, rather than business alone”.
Vavi further called on the business sector to make more serious efforts to avoid job losses, and reiterated the call for clothing retailers to stock 75% locally manufactured goods on their shelves.
”Mining companies must do more to develop South African industry, rather than focusing on foreign mining opportunities,” he added.
Noting that employers have sidestepped labour rights through casualisation and subcontracting, Cosatu demanded amendments to the Labour Relations Act to ensure that temporary workers have the same rights and benefits as permanent workers.
Following the Edcon group attacking union demands, Vavi threatened to call on workers to withdraw investments they have made in the group.
Closing off the press conference, he said the union body is still open to negotiation before June 27, should Edcon change its mind.
”If mining companies want to change their minds in terms of retrenching as the first option, we are open to discussion … If the South African Reserve Bank wants to engage in discussions about interest rates, we are ready to talk.”
However, Vavi said Cosatu will not submit to political blackmail.
The programme of industrial action includes weekly pickets in July and August, a half-day national stayaway on September 19, lunch-hour demonstrations in October and November and a mass rally to mark the federation’s 20th birthday in December.
Vavi also said Cosatu is shocked that elements within the liberation movement want to roll back gains workers have made since the demise of apartheid.
Vavi said the federation will prepare a response to an African National Congress document that made reference to labour laws requiring more flexibility to create jobs.
”Cosatu believes that the overwhelming majority of delegates to the ANC national general council would never adopt proposals designed to roll back worker’s gains.
”The document suggests that a dual economy requires dual labour laws.”
Such separate laws for different groups would just entrench exclusion and inequality.
”In contrast, the aim of the democratic movement has always been a single integrated economy with equal rights for all our people,” Vavi said. — Sapa