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The Mercury reports that Cosatu and its affiliate, the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu), have postponed a planned nationwide strike on Friday as they continue to engage with the Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan over their concerns about the privatisation of Transnet.
Last week Satawu said it had planned to hold marches in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape, and at other Transnet depots, with the main march to take place in Durban. Gordhan and the unions started engagements on Monday, aimed at averting a strike at the beleaguered state-owned enterprise (SOE). Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement on Wednesday, described the state entity as “inefficient and uncompetitive”, with Treasury documents revealing that the indebted SOE’s efficiencies have cost over R400 billion. Business and labour have raised ongoing concerns about the viability of the entity and its drain on the fiscus, with Transnet recently reporting a loss of R5.7bn in 2022-23. Cosatu spokesperson Matthew Parks on Thursday said they were opposed to privatisation if it was going to lead to restructuring and job losses. “We want Transnet fixed but not at the expense of workers losing their jobs,” he said, adding that the federation was hoping the new leadership at the entity “can bring in the competence required” as quickly as possible.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kuben Chetty at The Mercury
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page