The Citizen reports that trade union federation Cosatu has urged workers across all sectors and ordinary South Africans to join a national strike against worsening living conditions in the country.
Cosatu, which is a key labour ally of the ANC, says its members are ready to take to the streets on Wednesday against the rising costs of fuel and food and the continuous power cuts. The union on Sunday outlined its plans to bring the economy to a standstill in a bid to get government to acknowledge the socio-economic crisis facing millions of South Africans. According to the federation, the only way to make the government act against the unaffordable cost of living is to bring the economy to a halt. General secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali indicated that the strike would take form of a “stayaway” and a legally protected strike. However, the mass protest may not bode well for the economy. Last week, political analyst Andre Duvenhage noted that the economy was in crisis and embarking on such types of strikes would destabilise the country even more. “Can’t they see the implication of this? This is absolutely irresponsible, with political motives behind it,” Duvenhage opined. Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi said the nationwide protest was not a joint strike with the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), as they had their own programme. Saftu has indicated it would also take part in a national shutdown against similar issues on the same day.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Faizel Patel at The Citizen
- See too, Cosatu calls on South Africans to join nationwide strike against cost of living, at EWN
- And also, Cosatu’s ‘irresponsible’ national strike could sink economy even deeper, on page 6 of The Citizen of 19 August 2022
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