TimesLIVE reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) indicated on Wednesday that it would embark on an indefinite strike on Friday and ground SA Airways (SAA) until workers' grievances were addressed.
General secretary Irvin Jim told journalists that the government "must stimulate the economy to avoid looming job cuts". He said that when it came to national treasury and the department of public enterprises, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were faced with a “rampant right-wing capitalist agenda to auction and attack all hard-won gains of workers”. “We believe SAA must be funded by the state,” he indicated. Jim went on to state: “We're embarking on a rolling mass action. On Monday we're calling on Saftu [SA Federation of Trade Unions] to lead the mother of all battles against privatisation. We're sick and tired of the fiasco of investment conferences, but at the end of the day we see no job creation. What we see is a permanent attack on hard-won gains of workers. The best way to turn around this economy is for workers to demand that the state must intervene in the economy.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Bhengu at TimesLIVE
- Read too, SAA faces all-out strike, on page 2 of The Citizen of 14 November 2019
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