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#CosatuNationalStrike: FS branch concerned over job losses

───   KATLEHO MORAPELA 11:50 Tue, 12 Feb 2019

#CosatuNationalStrike: FS branch concerned over job losses  | News Article

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in the Free State says it will fight to the end to ensure on-going job losses in the mining sector comes to an end.


This, as members in the province prepare to join the national Cosatu strike set to take place tomorrow (Wednesday).

The union’s provincial Secretary, Monyatso oa Mahlatsi, says they stand firm against the plight faced by workers in all sectors and will through the march express their dissatisfaction with the increasing job losses at various workplaces, specifically at mines around the city of Welkom. He says mines in the Matjhabeng District have for years been the economic hub of the province and he foresees a deepening crisis in this district as some mines close down while others increasingly retrench their workers. Mahlatsi alludes that they are also concerned over looming retrenchments at Eskom, following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement to split the utility into three entities and are worried this decision will threaten the jobs of thousands of their members.

He adds that the financial crisis faced by companies such as Telkom and the Edcon Group also has a huge impact on the lives of its employees. He says the federation is thus marching against job losses in all the industries and would like to highlight challenges experienced by workers in both the public and the private sector.

Members of the federation and its alliances will on Wednesday assemble at 9am in Welkom and march from 10am to the Welkom Central Park, where they will hand over a memorandum of demands to a number of employers in the area.

Various government departments and schools in the province might be affected as Cosatu members and its affiliates from all walks of the province are expected to partake in the march.

The union has stated that the nationwide strike is legally protected and urged all workers and their family members to come out in great numbers.


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