News24 reports that according to Zwelinzima Vavi, Monday's shutdown belongs to the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and other workers' unions, and not the EFF.

The Saftu general secretary held a press briefing on Friday to give an update on the national protest, which was announced by EFF leader Julius Malema on 29 January. Vavi said the federation was "not joining, but participating" in the event, during which the EFF will be demanding an end to load-shedding and for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down. Vavi explained that that “they (the EFF) made the call, but the call resonated with us." Saftu has 14 of its own demands, including an end to load-shedding, but it is not calling for the president to step down. Vavi said the fedration erred in the past by believing that replacing one ANC president with another ANC president would solve the country's problems, "but the workers still suffer". He added that "for now", he was not affiliated with any political party. “We are not allies with the EFF. […] This [shutdown] is not an attempt to form an alliance with the EFF, PAC, Azapo etc., but we are comrades in arms pursuing the same struggle [as with] all who identify themselves with the cause of the workers," Vavi explained. He said the shutdown would be peaceful and anyone who threw stones, set off petrol bombs or damaged property or infrastructure was "not one of us". Vavi added that the message they wanted to send was that they were not barbarians.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Alex Patrick at News24
• Read too, The lid will be taken off the pot, says Saftu ahead of national shutdown, at News24
• And also, ‘We’re not barbarians, but we’ll be militant,’ says Vavi on Monday’s national shutdown, at The Citizen

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page