News24 reports that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in the Free State has condemned employers for allegedly forcing their workers to report for duty in the volatile Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality in QwaQwa.
The federation's provincial secretary, Monyatso oa Mahlatsi, said: "The situation is such that the community have declared a total shutdown in the area resulting in many access roads being blockaded. We are therefore disappointed that some employers are sending threatening messages to workers to go to work. This will put lives of our members, their families and or their properties at risk. These employers are insensitive to the socio-economic conditions of the workers. They are also ignoring what is happening in the community. Clearly, these employers only see workers as a pair of working hands and regard only themselves as humans. We condemn this thinking in the strongest possible terms." Oa Mahlatsi further make a call on the provincial government, the water and sanitation department and the Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality to remedy water shortages and electricity blackouts with immediate effect in order to normalise the situation.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntwaagae Seleka at News24
- Read too, Medical staff trapped in volatile QwaQwa as residents demand water, at News24
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page