Cosatu is determined to take strike action against food and fuel prices, writes Matuma Letsoalo
South Africa’s biggest miners’ union said on Wednesday it would down tools on August 6 in a national strike that could halt production.
Cosatu says there is no need for general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi to apologise for saying he was prepared to lay down his life for the revolution.
Two different approaches to job creation were put forward on Wednesday by the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the Democratic Alliance.
Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has been given 14 days by the South African Human Rights Commission to retract his ”kill for Zuma” statement.
Trade unionist leader Zwelinzima Vavi on Monday sought to clarify his ”kill for Zuma” remark made at the weekend as the DA laid a charge against him.
South Africa’s positive credit rating outlook from Moody’s is under strain and dependent on the government maintaining its current economic policies.
SA is braced for a slowdown after a stretch of solid growth, as higher interest rates coupled with rising food and fuel costs are set to bite.
The latest hike in the repo rate is a ”cruel blow” to South Africans trying to recover from the previous nine 0,5% increases, Cosatu said on Friday.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Thursday it would intensify strikes already planned for July if the interest rate is increased later in the day.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions said on Wednesday it would call a strike to protest job losses linked to the electricity generation crisis.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of a pay increase for public servants. On Tuesday, Minister of Public Service and Administration Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said public-sector workers would receive a wage increase of 10,5% with effect from July 1.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) started a three-day meeting on Monday to elect an acting president, following the axing of Willy Madisha over a missing donation scandal in February. S’dumo Dlamini, first vice-president of Cosatu, is expected to be elected as the acting president.
Willy Madisha was trying to ”milk dry” the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), it claimed in a statement on Tuesday. Cosatu had already spent R235 237 on the commission into Madisha’s conduct which recommended he be axed as its president, said spokesperson Patrick Craven.
Thousands of members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) took to the streets of Johannesburg to protest against the rising prices of food, fuel and electricity. The march proceeded to the offices of Eskom and supermarket chain Pick n Pay, where memorandums of understanding were delivered.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) warned on Monday of riots as it launched a protest campaign against soaring food prices. Rice prices on world markets have climbed about 75% in just two months, and the cost of wheat has rocketed by 120% in the past year. The price of maize has more than doubled since the beginning of 2006.
More than 36Â 000 jobs have been created through the establishment of the Job Creation Trust, said its chairperson, Willie Madisha, on Saturday at the trust’s annual awards evening. Earlier, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) had said Madisha would be defying the union if he addressed the awards ceremony.
Slain revolutionary leader Chris Hani would not have believed that 14 years into democracy, South Africa is still an unequal society, the Congress of South African Trade Unions said on Thursday at a memorial service marking 15 years since the assassination of Hani, the then-head of the South African Communist Party.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) on Friday threatened to "take to the streets" in protest against South African power utility Eskom’s proposed electricity hikes. "We will announce in due course a rolling mass-action programme to stop this neo-liberal attack on the quality of life of South Africans," the SACP said in a statement.
Unions have called on the government to place a moratorium on electricity tariff hikes or face protest action, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Wednesday. Eskom has requested a 53% price increase from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa.
The African National Congress (ANC) will not make its arms-deal report public, the ruling party reiterated on Wednesday. In a statement, the ANC said it noted a call in the media by the Congress of South African Trade Unions to have the outcome of its arms-deal report made public.
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African National Congress president Jacob Zuma on Monday sought to ”clarify” recent statements of his, which he said had been misrepresented in the media, and denied having been ”summoned” by the Congress of South African Trade Unions to explain some of them.
Senior Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) officials who are supporters of President Thabo Mbeki are not facing the axe, the trade-unionfederation said on Monday. Cosatu dismissed reports that three senior officials were in the firing line as ”totally untrue”.
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/ 27 February 2008
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) axed Willie Madisha as its president on Wednesday over his involvement in a missing donation scandal. This comes after a commission probing the matter presented its findings and recommendations to Cosatu’s central executive committee at its meeting this week.
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/ 19 February 2008
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has wished Fidel Castro a long and happy retirement following the Cuban leader’s decision not to return to office as president. ”Comrade Fidel holds a special place in South African hearts because of his decision to deploy thousands of soldiers to help our African liberation struggles,” sais the trade union.
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/ 15 February 2008
South Africa’s left is riding high as the government prepares to unveil a budget that is expected to raise spending on social programmes and shift policy more towards fighting unemployment and poverty. Powerful trade unions and the South African Communist Party have recently seen their influence within the ruling African National Congress rise.
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/ 6 February 2008
The new leader of the African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, will be one of the principal dignitaries at the opening of Parliament on Friday, when his predecessor Thabo Mbeki will be making what could be his last speech on the state of the nation.
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/ 30 January 2008
Prosecution procedures into alleged price-fixing by certain South African milk producers will begin next week, the Competition Commission said on Tuesday. Eight dairy companies investigated for alleged price-fixing will be involved in pre-hearings next week, said the commission’s head of enforcements and exemption.
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/ 23 January 2008
The Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (Cosatu) has been deeply saddened by the death of its former president, John Gomomo, it said on Wednesday. ”Gomomo died on Tuesday after a long and brave struggle against illness. We send our condolences to his family and share their grief at this sad time of loss,” said spokesperson Patrick Craven.
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/ 21 January 2008
South Africa was set on Monday to ration electricity in a bid to stem a spiralling crisis that has dealt a severe blow to its status as the continent’s economic powerhouse. After mounting anger over daily power cuts that have cost business hundreds of millions of rands, the government said it was drawing up plans that could see consumers fined if they exceed set quotas.
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/ 20 January 2008
President Thabo Mbeki is to meet the management of electricity utility Eskom to ascertain the depth of the current power-supply crisis and the company’s remedial plans, the Presidency said on Saturday. Mbeki will table the matter before the forthcoming Cabinet lekgotla (meeting) that begins in Pretoria on Tuesday.
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/ 18 January 2008
Eskom must provide answers about the ongoing electricity crisis, the South African Human Rights Commission said on Friday. In a statement, the SAHRC said it and the Public Protector could soon work together in an investigation to establish why Eskom had instituted power cuts to the extent that it has.