Thousands of workers heeded a call by the Congress of South African Trade Unions to down tools on Thursday in protest against South Africa’s high levels of unemployment and poverty.
Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said the strike was still gathering momentum by 11am on Thursday, with marches planned across the country.
The mining and car-manufacturing industries appeared to be hardest hit. Chamber of Mines spokesperson Elize Strydom said at some mines there was as much as 100% absence.
While AngloGold Ashanti had full attendance at its West Wits mine, three of its Vaal River mines experienced 100% absence. Great Noligwa mine near the Vaal River had normal attendance, said Strydom.
She said Gold Fields’ Driefontein mine was operating as normal, with the usual number of employees, while two-thirds of the workforce stayed away from the Kloof mine. There was a similar situation at the Beatrix mine in the Free State where only one out of four shafts was operational.
Anglo Coal was experiencing a ”mixed bag” with an average of about 50% absence at its mines.
Harmony Gold spokesman Philip Kotze said most workers were staying away from its Free State operations. Most workers were on strike at Harmony’s ”big operators” — the Sepong, Bambanani and Masimong mines in the Free State. However, in the Evander and Klerksdorp regions most people had reported for work.
Metalworkers
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa said many of its members joined the strike. ”Metalworkers in their numbers today joined industrial protests in the Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Richards Bay, East London, George, Port Elizabeth, North West region, Limpopo, Kimberley and Bloemfontein,” said Numsa general secretary Silumko Nondwangu.
The union is targeting Mittal (formerly known as Iscor), Denel, DaimlerChrysler, BMW and Ford.
High absenteeism was reported at the Volkswagen plant in Uitenhage. Production of cars had been reorganised and was running on a very limited level, said the company’s general manager of communication, Bill Stephens.
He could not give the exact percentage of staff not at work, explaining that the plant ran a three-shift pattern over 24 hours. The company did consider Thursday a normal production day and had urged all employees to come to work, said Stephens.
”It is regrettable that Cosatu has taken this misguided strike action, which will damage the economy and threaten jobs rather than in any way help to create jobs or alleviate poverty,” he said.
The Automobile Manufacturers’ Employers’ Organisation and National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) also described the protest action as ”totally counter-productive”.
”It does nothing to contribute to job creation in our economy. On the contrary, it could well contribute to further job losses in marginal sectors and at companies currently experiencing serious pressures,” they said in a joint statement.
Strikes such as this send the wrong signals to international investors and created negative perceptions.
Naamsa’s Nico Vermeulen said most automotive plants planned in advance for stayaways. Knowing they cannot operate production lines when most of their workers stay away, they rescheduled operations in consultation with unions to make up for lost production, he said.
Essential services
Major hospitals said they were not affected by the strike as they fall under essential services.
Electricity utility Eskom, which also falls under essential services, was not affected by the strike, said spokesperson Fani Zulu.
Airports were also not affected by the protest. Airports Company South Africa spokesperson Solomon Makgale said there had been no reports of disruptions in schedules as a result of the strike. ”Nothing has been reported that I am aware of,” he said.
Metrorail spokesperson Thandi Mlangeni said commuter trains in Gauteng were running as normal. She said the only problems being experienced by Metrorail were in the Western Cape where train services had been suspended in Khayelitsha. The services were suspended on Wednesday after the Heideveld ticket office and a train coach were set alight.
In the capital, Pretoria, businesses, transport services, the municipality and communication giant Telkom said there were no apparent disruptions in services.
Meanwhile, hundreds of commuters in Phuthaditjhaba in the eastern Free State were stranded on Thursday due to a total stayaway by bus drivers of the Maluti bus service.
In Bloemfontein, most buses from Interstate Bus Lines, the biggest bus transport service in the area, were operating. Company spokesperson George Mokgothu said five bus drivers of the more than 200 did not arrive at work on Thursday. ”The five drivers who did not report to work are union leaders,” Mokgothu said.
Schools around the country have been affected in varying degrees by teachers participating in the Cosatu strike. KwaZulu-Natal education spokesperson Christie Naude said the department was monitoring the situation, but could not give figures. ”Obviously some schools are more affected than others,” she said.
In the Eastern Cape, random sampling showed that schools nearest the protest marches were most affected. Spokesperson Loyiso Pulumani said the four major marches were being held in Queenstown, East London, Port Elizabeth and Mthatha. These areas had stayaways of between 80% and 90%.
In other areas such as Uitenhage, Grahamstown and Cradock, there were mixed reports, with some schools reporting very good attendance compared with others.
Other provinces were still collecting information on how schools had been affected.
Shops
Some Pick ‘n Pay stores in Gauteng were affected by the strike. ”The stores have definitely been affected,” said retail marketing director Nick Badminton. No figures were immediately available.
Badminton said despite some stores being affected, particularly in Gauteng, all stores nationwide were ”trading normally”.
The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union (Saccawu) mobilised its members to join Cosatu’s national strike as part of the campaign against poverty and unemployment. Saccawu said it would target companies in retailing, hospitality, finance and catering in Gauteng, the North West and Limpopo.
Pickets would be held at Woolworths, Shoprite Checkers and Pick ‘n Pay.
Fifty-nine percent of the Shoprite Group’s stores were affected by the strike. Shoprite human resources director Callie Burger said 41% of staff were absent throughout the group. The percentages of absenteeism varied between 21% and 58% in the nine provinces.
”We have implemented contingency plans to ensure that our service levels are not adversely affected, and hope that the position will soon return to normal in the interest of our customers, our staff and our business,” Burger said.
Edcon, which owns Edgars and CNA, said it would only have figures available on Friday.
Gauteng
If South Africans do not stand up and fight against poverty, job losses and HIV/Aids, then ”our revolution is in danger”, South African Communist Party leader Blade Nzimande said on Thursday. He was addressing a march that was part of the Cosatu strike.
”We are here as the [SACP] to support Cosatu because we know the pain that poverty and unemployment brings in our society,” he said.
Nzimande was addressing thousands of workers who had gathered at Beyers Naude Square in Johannesburg. He said workers have played a crucial role in the struggle for freedom and they will also succeed in their fight against poverty and job losses.
”Our message to Satawu’s [South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union] striking security guards is that they should stop violence and intimidation during their strike,” Nzimande said.
He said the SACP is for the workers and asked them to discuss in their different unions whether the SACP should break away from the tripartite alliance — to which the strikers shouted: ”Yes!”.
Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi was expected to address the marchers before they marched to the Clothing Bargaining Council in Newtown. They were expected to stop at Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa’s office to hand over a memorandum before proceeding to Newtown.
Cape Town, KwaZulu-Natal
There was a strong police presence in central Cape Town where city authorities denied Cosatu permission to go ahead with a march through the CBD.
Mayoral spokesperson Robert Macdonald said strikers would not be allowed to hold an indoor rally at the Good Hope Centre either, as police felt the security risk was too great.
”We have maximum deployment in [central] Cape Town,” said Western Cape police spokesperson Captain Randall Stoffels.
The city withdrew permission for the Cosatu march after Tuesday’s violent rampage through the city centre by striking security guards, who assaulted people, damaged property and looted shops.
Police were monitoring a march by 5 000 members of 21 KwaZulu-Natal Cosatu affiliates in Durban. ”Everything is under control,” said police spokesperson Superintendent Phindile Radebe, denying reports that the city had come to a standstill.
The march started at Curries Fountain and, under the leadership of South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union deputy president June Dube, was still proceeding to the Durban City Hall, she said.
According to South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) radio news, the workers were to hand over a memorandum of grievances about jobs and poverty to the KwaZulu-Natal Chamber of Commerce.
Shop owners along the route of the march had closed their businesses and there was a strong police presence.
In a separate demonstration in Pietermaritzburg, teachers were marching to the provincial education department in protest against a lack of stationery and safety at schools and corrupt practices within the department, the SABC reported.
Cosatu is calling on the government and employers to treat unemployment and poverty as a national emergency. ”We want to see far more of the country’s growing wealth being ploughed into job-creation projects, training programmes and the provision of basic services.
”We [are] demanding more protection for industries like clothing and textiles which face obliteration in the face of unfair competition from China,” the union federation said in a statement. — Sapa