This week...
In other news...
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1.SACTWU going membership in leader
industry
There has been a dramatic shift in trade union balance of power in
the leather industry.
This was confirmed yesterday at a council meeting of the National
Bargaining Council for the Leather Industry held in Durban.
It was revealed that the Southern African Clothing & Textile
Workers Union (SACTWU) continues to register consistent membership
growth in the leather industry while the National Union of Leather & Allied
Workers (NULAW) has dramatically lost its majority in the industry
from a high of 65 percent a few years ago to only 37 percent this
year.
For the footwear sector, the statistics adopted by the meeting shows
that SACTWU's representivity in the footwear sector has grown impressively
from 17% in 2004 to 27% as at March this year, while that of NULAW
has declined dramatically from 64% to 44% over the same period.
This means that NULAW on its own is no longer able to reach wage
or other agreements with footwear employers and would need to work
much closer with SACTWU. In fact, no agreements can now be reached
in the footwear sector without SACTWU's consent.
The footwear sector is the dominant sector in the leather bargaining
council, representing 62% of the total number of employees registered
with the leather bargaining council.
The leather bargaining council representivity statistics adopted
further shows that SACTWU is now the majority union in the tanning
sector (54%) and holds a joint majority with NULAW in the General
Goods & Handbags section of the industry.
“SACTWU is pleased with this development since it has always
advocated that the interests of leather workers are best represented
by stronger unity between the unions in the industry,” said
Deputy Secretary General Andre Kriel
2. More blacks needed in Technical
According to SA Transport and allied Workers Union (SATAWU), SAA
Technical remains lily white at the top and pitch black at the bottom.
SATAWU wants this to change and has given management an ultimatum.
After 12 years of democracy, the SAA Technical department has vehemently
refused to transform. The division employs about 3000 workers and
has insisted on keeping top management positions for white males,
refusing to adequately train black workers to let them move higher
nor to acknowledge government’s Employment Equity Act.
This is the view of SATAWU, based on a series of events that have
happened in that company over the past decade. Some of the events
border on blatant racism, thus the union wishes to place on record
the following:
(a) (a) Earlier this year a white employee made the following remark
to a black worker “All my efforts to turn you into a white
man have failed, you remain a kaffir”. He remains employed
by SAA Technical even though SATAWU views this offence as warranting
a straight dismissal.
(b) (b) A white technician recently assaulted a black technician
and has now been rewarded with a promotion.
(c) (c) SATAWU has not been recognized at SAA Technical in spite
of having 500 workers in the division.
(d) (d) Black workers who have worked as craftsmen for ten years
have had no training at all while their white counterparts have now
progressed to senior positions through comprehensive training programmes.
(e) (e) Over 95 % of the 290 managers are white while almost all
menial workers are black.
(f) (f) Nearly all team leaders are white males.
Workers belonging to SATAWU have vowed that if the division does
not improve its record on race relations and transformation, they
will embark on an indefinite strike action within one month should
negotiations not produce concrete results.
SATAWU is of the view that aviation is a very a strategic component
of our national economy. Moreover it also plays a pivotal role in
defining South Africa and its national identity to the rest of the
world. It therefore has a responsibility to be in the forefront of
government’s transformation programmes.
We demand therefore that it demonstrates commitment towards transformation
immediately. We further warn management of SAA Technical that unless
they do this, the aviation industry will be plunged into chaos. We
will mobilize all our members in the sector to make sure that our
point is made, our resolution is felt and the division eradicates
all forms of racism and complies with the EEA and other progressive
legislation.
SATAWU will no longer tolerate white domination in SAA Technical
or any other division or subsidiary of SAA.
Break down of senior employees of SAA Technical:
Executive Level:
Blacks : 1 FEMALE
Coloureds : NONE
Asians : 2 MALES
Whites : 7 MALES, 2 FEMALES (1 JUST RESIGNED)
Senior Management level:
Blacks : 3 MALES
Coloureds : NONE
Asians : 2 MALES
Whites : 30 MALES, 2 FEMALES (1 RESIGNED)
Junior Management Level:
Blacks : 3 MALES, 2 FEMALES
Coloureds : NONE
Asians : 2 MALES, 1 FEMALE
Whites : 40 MALES, 7 FEMALES
Supervisory Level (Technical)
Blacks : 2 MALES
Coloureds : 4 MALES
Asians : 4 ASIANS
Whites : 165 MALES
Senior Technicians (SLT)
Blacks : 6 MALES
Coloureds : 7 MALES, 2 FEMALES
Asians : 16 MALES
Whites : 320 MALES
3. A march to be remembered
ignored- 1946
Last week Saturday (August 12 2006) marked the 60th anniversary
of the historic 1946 mineworkers’ strike. To commemorate
the event a march to the Chamber of Mines was organised where thousands
of the National Union Mineworkers members also too part in.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions deeply regrets that
the media gave no coverage to the march.
This was a major demonstration of remembrance, solidarity and
rededication, by workers who made huge sacrifices in the national
liberation struggle, and continue to suffer death in an industry
that is surrounded by dangerous and unhealthy working conditions.
The 1946 strike is rich in lessons for today’s struggles
around COSATU’s Jobs and Poverty Campaign. This could have
been a fascinating story for the media.
There has been similarly scant coverage of the 12-week strike
by workers at Kraft Foods, who are courageously fighting against
a ruthless international employer who has reduced its offer to
the workers in the course of the strike.
This forms part of a trend by the media to focus on strikes only
when there are violent incidents or major disruption. There is
an urgent need for a daily left-wing newspaper which accurately
portrays the lives and problems of workers and the poor and gives
them a voice.
4. Forklift drivers six
year
Elated forklift driver, Ephraim Seloga’s career took off
again after he returned to work on Tuesday after six years of fighting.
Seloga was granted R158 000 compensation by his employer for unlawful
dismissal.
The Labour Court arbitration also ordered that Seloga be reinstated,
after his daring job searches all proved fruitless for the past
five years.
Criterion Equipment, which unlawfully dismissed Seloga for allegedly
threatening his supervisor also paid an additional compensation
of about R37 000 as a final settlement in lieu of Seloga’s
reinstatement.
NUMSA had referred the dismissal of the 36-year old father of
three children to the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and
Arbitration (CCMA) to push for his reinstatement, also demanding
that he should be treated fairly. But the company took the CCMA
ruling in favour of Seloga on review which was dismissed with legal
costs.
“I am grateful, most certainly, about the outcome of the
protracted dispute as I had lost all my valuable belongings, including
furniture after they were repossessed for defaulting payments.
Had it not be for Numsa, I believe this final outcome would not
have been possible,” Seloga sai Seloga is still patiently
waiting for the money to be deposited into his account.
In another development, the Johannesburg Labour Court also confirmed
the compensation award in respect of Johannes Malatjie, aged 55
who was unlawfully dismissed by Highveld Steel after serving the
company for almost 32 years. The acting judge Justice Cele described
the dismissal of Malatjie as substantively unfair and gave order
that he should be reinstated
with retrospective effect from the past five years and with no
loss of benefits and salary.
Although Malatjie was prepared to go back to work, management
has insisted that he should consider taking retrenchment package
as it could not find a suitable placement position for his age
A long- time Numsa member, Malatjie pointed out however that he
was still bitter with the manner in which he was dismissed although
he was happy with the outcome of Numsa’s efforts to fight
for his reinstatement, he said.
5. Ruling concerning
the application of a rule amendment
The pension funds adjudicator issued another landmark
ruling concerning the application of a rule amendment not
approved by the registrar of pension funds.
In Meiring v Bel - Essex Provident Fund and Others, the
complainant was employed by Bel - Essex Admin Holdings
(Pty) Ltd and was a member of the fund. On 28 February
2002, the complainant left service of the employer and
in terms of the rules of the fund, he was entitled to a
withdrawal benefit.
From the documentary evidence, it appeared as if the amount
was in the region of R431 000.00. The fund refused to pay
the benefit on the basis that the fund trustees had passed
a resolution that the rules be amended to the effect that
no withdrawal benefit be paid upon the termination of a
member's service, except if the termination is as a result
of ill-health.
However, the registrar refused to approve the rule amendment
on the basis that it contravened section 14A (dealing with
minimum withdrawal benefits) of the Act. Hereafter, the
complainant referred the matter to the adjudicator's office.
The adjudicator firstly held that the registered withdrawal
rule applicable to the complainant makes provision for
the immediate payment of the benefit after cessation of
service or for a maximum period of six months after withdrawal
from the fund. The complainant was employed as a managing
director of various subsidiary companies of the employer
since May 1984 until February 2002.
In terms of the rules, he was an executive who had completed
more than 9 years of service and was thus entitled to his
withdrawal benefit defined as his member's share. Furthermore,
the proposed amendment to the existing withdrawal benefit
rule has no legal validity until it has been approved and
registered by the registrar.
The adjudicator further held that the conduct of the board
of management is to be severely deprecated. Notwithstanding
two rulings from the Supreme Court of Appeal (the highest
court in our country for all issues except constitutional
issues) stating that the rules of the fund are supreme
and only come into effect once they have been approved
and registered by the registrar, the board of the fund,
in blatant disregard of these rulings and several determinations
by this Tribunal, simply decided that it would not apply
the registered rules of the fun. The law regarding pension
fund rules as it currently stands is patently clear in
terms of which the registered rules
are king and remain valid until amended (approved by the
registrar in terms of section 12 of the Act). Had the complainant
been legally represented in this matter, the adjudicator
would have had no hesitation in making a cost order in
favour of the complainant, a power very rarely exercised
by the adjudicator.
The fund administrator was ordered to compute and pay
the withdrawal benefit together with interest at 15.5%
per annum from 1 March 2002 until date of payment, within
4 weeks of the date of the determination
6. Cape Town Community
TV to be launched
After a year of community consultations, planning and development,
the Cape Town Community TV Collective is now in a position
to launch a genuinely community owned and controlled TV organization.
The AGM will adopt its constitution, an operational and
long-term plan and elect members to serve on the CTCTV Board.
Community representatives will form the overwhelming majority
on the board, with 6 sectors each eligible to elect two members
to the board. The agreed community sectors are sport, labour,
NGO’s, community based organizations (CBO’s),
arts, culture and community media and the education sector,
which will consist mainly of educational institutions such
as schools and tertiary institutions.
Delegate status to the AGM will only be conferred to bona-fide
organizations who fall within these sectors and attend sectoral
meetings OR who apply in writing to the Steering Committee
for delegate status. People who wish to be volunteers for
CTCTV could also apply to be observers at the AGM.
The community of Greater Cape Town will be establishing
its own community television organization at its launching
Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday 16th September 2006
at Community House, 41 Salt River Road, Salt River.
Planned Sectoral Meetings:
Labour - Tuesday 22nd August at 2pm – 5pm at Community
House, Salt River – Contact Lynn Taylor @ 447 2727
Arts, Culture and Community Media – Thursday, 31st
August at 10am at Amac, 1st Floor, Sacks Futeran Building,
16 Harrington Street, Cape Town – Contact Karen Thorne
@ 084 603 1061
NGO Sector – Tuesday 5th September from 3pm – 5pm
at TAC Board Room, Community House, Salt River - Contact
Fredalene Booysen @ 083 774 2329
Community Tuesday 5th September from 3pm – 5pm at
TAC Board Room, Community House, Salt River – Contact
Brenda Leonard @ 448 5450
Education Sector – Tuesday 5th September 2006 from
10.30am – 1.00pm CACE/DLL Seminar Room, at the University
of the Western Cape - Contact Liz Brouckaert @ 083-324-4007
Sports sector – To be announced -Contact Cliffie Swartz
@ 086 624 7657 or Herman Abrahams @ 659 4500
You can also contact Martin Jansen – CTCTV Steering
Committee Chairperson and spokesperson at 021 447 2727 or
082 870 2025 for further information.
7.Cosatu responds
to Pikoli
Last week Friday (August 11 2006), the Congress
of South African Trade Unions received a letter from Advocate
VP Pikoli, National Director of the Public Prosecutions,
in response to a memorandum from the KwaZulu Natal province
of COSATU on 28 July 2006, which alleged that the NPA is
conducting a political campaign against ANC Deputy President
Jacob Zuma.
While the memorandum was not submitted by COSATU’s
national leadership, it is in line with the Central Committee
resolution of August 2005, which identified “a concerted
politically inspired campaign aimed at destroying the political
career of the Deputy President”.
COSATU has no reason to revise its view that there was indeed
active collaboration between the NPA and some in the media,
with the view of launching a media trial that would tarnish
Jacob Zuma’s image and damage his credibility and standing,
as part of a systematic and well orchestrated campaign to
end his political career.
This involved ‘off-the-record’ media briefings
by Mr Pikoli’s predecessor, Bulelani Nqcuka, his statement
that there was ‘a prima facie case’ against Zuma,
even though there was not enough evidence to prosecute him,
and leaks of information that only NPA investigators or senior
government leaders would have had access to. All of this
fed into Jacob Zuma’s hysterical trial by the media.
The question that we have asked over and over again is why
the NPA sought to systematically leak information and run
a media trial instead of pursuing whatever allegations were
made in the courts of law, so that Jacob Zuma would be provided
an opportunity to answer to the allegations in court.
He is not the only person to be treated in this way by the
NPA. A number of ANC leaders have had serious allegations
thrown at them and were never given an opportunity to respond
to them in court.
It is these things that have led COSATU and many others
to come to the conclusion that this must not happen, because
the NPA do not understand the foundations of our constitution
or the rule of law, but are pursuing political agendas.
It is never possible to produce conclusive proof of a conspiracy,
which by its very nature is clandestine. There is however
clear evidence that the NPA has behaved improperly and has
been motivated by a political agenda to discredit Jacob Zuma,
rather than a desire to prosecute a legal case of alleged
corruption.
It is still clear that he will not get a fair trial and
COSATU stands by the CC resolution, which included the call
on the President of South Africa to review the decision to
relieve Comrade Zuma of his responsibilities as the Deputy
President of South Africa, and for the withdrawal of all
the charges against Comrade Zuma.
8.Cosatu statements
on City Press allegations
The COSATU National Office Bearers met on
Monday 14 August 2006, to review negative public statements
that appeared in the City Press on 13 August 2006. The
National Office Bearers wish to record the following:
There is no truth to the suggestions that the COSATU National
Office Bearers collectively or individually are conducting
an investigation into the COSATU General Secretary, Zwelinzima
Vavi. President Willie Madisha confirmed in the meeting
that he is not conducting such an investigation. There
is no truth to the allegation that the COSATU General Secretary
has misused the COSATU credit card for personal gain or
failed to account for the usage of the credit card. If
such an investigation is happening, it is happening without
any of the COSATU National Office Bearers’ authorisation
or even knowledge.
There is no truth to the allegations
that the COSATU President and COSATU General Secretary
are not on speaking terms
because of supposed tensions caused by the leadership contest
in the coming Ninth National Congress. The truth is that
the COSATU National Office Bearers meet every Monday to
discuss a range of organisational challenges.
There is
no truth to the suggestions that COSATU or the COSATU National
Office Bearers are divided on their support
or lack of support for the ANC Deputy President. The reality
of the matter is that COSATU constitutional structures
have over and over again unanimously come to the conclusion
that the federation should provide unwavering support for
the ANC Deputy President for the reasons advanced by our
members.
COSATU regrets that, unlike in the previous COSATU
congresses, faceless sources, for reasons only known to
themselves,
continue to peddle untruths and half truths about so-called ‘internal
divisions’ and ‘serious leadership contests’ that
supposedly will happen in the Ninth National Congress.
In this scenario these sources, in the most sensationalised
fashion, use sections of the media to assassinate characters
of individual leaders whilst supposedly profiling others
who are said to be alternatives.
COSATU has seen this form
of destructive tendency in the run-up to a number of COSATU
affiliates’ national congresses. This includes the
NUM, NUMSA, SATAWU, and SADTU, and now COSATU itself is
not spared. We are aware that most of the information is
leaked by factions angling for position in these congresses.
Regrettably whilst pursuing their narrow factional intentions,
these factions cause untold damage to the image of the
trade unions. The National Office Bearers condemned this
practise in the strongest terms. It is a phenomenon that
is so anti-COSATU culture and so anti-revolutionary that
the National Office Bearers will insist that the coming
congress fully confronts it.
Above all, COSATU National
Office Bearers are extremely worried that as part of
this character assassination, personal
lives of targeted individuals are presented in the most
twisted negative fashion in order to injure their image.
This happened to the COSATU General Secretary yesterday
and we are aware that faceless forces are hard at work
to target other National Office Bearers as well.
9.Cosatu Limpopo
responds to City Press allegations
The COSATU Provincial Office Bearers in Limpopo met yesterday
to discuss the weekend reports that there is war between
the General Secretary and the President of COSATU over the
misappropriation of the Federation’s resources.
These malicious reports fit perfectly with previous ones
which seeks to project the COSATU General Secretary as a
reckless, arrogant, dictator, childish and now a corrupt
leader who must be isolated.
Whilst we note the Press release of the National Office
Bearers distancing themselves from the reports, we believe
that there is no smoke without fire. We have a right as members
of the organisation to demand an explanation on the source
of this reports as we suspect that there are both internal
and external players behind them and we must do everything
in our power to expose these faceless people. We can no longer
tolerate high
levels of ill discipline demonstrated by the so called senior
leaders within COSATU who do not want their names to be mentioned
to the public.
For that matter we have convened a Special Provincial Executive
Committee meeting early next week to fully discuss the matter
and develop concrete proposals on how to deal with this situation.
In the meantime we must dismiss the malicious reports with
all the contempt it deserves and wish to declare our full
support to the General Secretary and the leadership collective
of the federation.
10 . Defend Cosatu against faceless
leaders
A meeting of the Leadership of the Mpumalanga Province attended
by the Provincial Chairperson and Secretaries of affiliates was
held yesterday to review and discuss recent media reports and
speculations.
The meeting noted with serious concerns the media reports and
speculations about tensions in the leadership of COSATU and the
succession battles contained in the Mail and Guardian and City
Press of last weekend respectively.
The meeting condemned these faceless Leaders who allow to be
used by the mainstream media owned by our class enemies.
These faceless sources choose to use the media as opposed to
using established forums and platforms to raise issues internally.
The meeting condemned the media for peddling lies and character
assassinating our leaders, in particular our General Secretary
Zwelinzima Vavi.
The meeting noted that our General Secretary is subject of media
attack because he is a principle leader committed to the emancipation
of the working class.
He is targeted by our class enemy because he is a forthright
leader who takes no prisoners, he has eloquently articulated
and defended the positions of the federation. Therefore he will
be defended for his exemplary leadership.
The meeting further called and restated that COSATU must not
waiver from being a transformative union, vibrant and dynamic.
COSATU’s agenda will never be dictated by the media and
our enemy camp. Our leaders will not be elected by our media
and our enemy camp. Our vision guiding us in the election of
the leadership will be commitment, hard work, collective leadership
and the desire to serve those that elect. Our unity and
cohesion is of paramount importance if we are to succeed in the
implementation our 2015.
Lastly, the meeting reiterated our support for Comrade Jacob
Zuma.
As the drama around his case unfolds it strengthen our resolve
that his (JZ) was a political conspiracy engineered in dark corners,
designed to frustrate him from becoming the next President.
We shall support all our leaders.
Hands off COSATU, Hands off our leaders
11 .SACP statement on
current development within Cosatu
The SACP is deeply disturbed by the baseless
distortions and all manner of unfounded speculations
currently being run in the media, especially by Independent
newspapers, about our positions regarding developments
in COSATU and in the SACP. What is of serious concern
to us is that most of what is being written in the
media is being done without any attempt whatsoever
to contact the SACP and seek its responses to all these
matters.
It is in the interests of our alliance, our country
and, need we say it, of the media itself to make an
effort in seeking our views before they go to print
on such matters. Otherwise this is an attempt to create
a climate of siege and internal crises within our organisations.
We categorically wish to state that there is no crisis
whatsoever.
Firstly, we wish to state it categorically that our
General Secretary’s Red Alert column in this
week’s Umsebenzi Online was not referring to
any individual in COSATU, but analysing a trend of
business unionism that COSATU itself has spoken about
on numerous occasions before. To try and put faces
on this trend and attribute that to our General Secretary
is sensationalism of the worst order. We regard this
as part of media’s attempts to sow divisions
and suspicions within the ranks of the working class,
and we must not allow the COSATU Congress, or SACP
work to be diverted by all this.
Furthermore, the SACP wishes to dismiss with the contempt
it deserves suggestions that some of our officials
are being targetted for removal from their positions
at our next congress by virtue of some concocted suppositions
as to where they stand in relation to matters affecting
the Deputy President of the ANC. The SACP wishes to
reiterate its stance, as articulated in our August
2006 Central Committee statement, that there are absolutely
no divisions on our stances regarding our principled
support for the Deputy President of the ANC, Cde Jacob
Zuma.
The SACP also wishes to reaffirm its complete confidence
in all its elected national office-bearers. It is a
blatant fabrication that some of these officials are
targeted for removal at the next Congress of the SACP.
Our next Congress, as per the last Central Committee
decision, will only be held sometime in July 2007 in
the Eastern Cape. We have not started with nomination
processes for leadership and any speculation in this
regard is mere sensationalist reporting.
The SACP also wishes to warn the working class in
our country that the sensationalist reporting about
the security and surveillance of senior leaders of
our organisations is meant to create an environment
of siege within our organisations, whose sole purpose
is to give space to the enemies of the working class
to sow divisions and suspicions within our ranks. This
is clearly the work of the very same faceless sources
giving false information and slandering the leadership
of the working class, especially in the run up to the
COSATU Congress.
The SACP remains firm in its principled commitment
to the unity of our alliance, and each of its components,
and shall not allow itself to be distracted from this.
Labour News across the border:
12 .ZCTU G.S assaulted,
detained & finally released
The ZCTU Secretary General, Wellington
Chibebe has been released on a $2million bail. He is
to appear in court on 4 September 2006. The ZCTU would
like to thank all fraternal friends for all the solidarity
messages we received.
Chibebe, was arrested at a roadblock and detained
at Waterfalls Police station on Tuesday.
Chibebe was coming to Harare from Masvingo with his
family when he was stopped at a roadblock near Waterfalls.
The Police wanted to search his car supposedly to look
for cash, but Chibebe informed them that what they
were doing was illegal.
The Police did not take kindly to Chibebe's words
and one policeman tried to forcibly remove him from
his car while his seat belt was still buckled on. The
policeman then vigorously clapped Chibebe twice and
accusing him of resisting to be searched. All this
was done in front of Chibebe's family.
The Police then arrested Chibebe and took him to Waterfalls
Police station where they then charged him with common
assault for allegedly assaulting a policeman when in
fact he is the one who was assaulted.
The ZCTU lawyer who attended to Chibebe said that
the Police deliberately changed the charges to common
assault so as to make the issue more serious since
it was Chibebe.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions strongly
condemned the arrest of Chibebe and demanded the dropping
of the charges and that the Zimbabwe state ceases it
campaign of intimidation against the trade union movement.
13 . ZCTU National Organiser
ZCTU National Organiser, Leonard Gwenzi
has been picked by the police after he was
found with close $200 000 (revalued) at a
roadblock along Seke Road. The money was
change from workshops he was conducting in
Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Masvingo
and Chinhoyi. G
Gwenzi was on his way to the ZCTU office
to surrender the cash. He has been asked
to accompany police to Borrowdale Police
Station.
14 .
SADC on Swaziland : Your silence
is too costly in human terms
We note that SADC leaders are gathered in
Maseru, Lesotho to discuss matters of regional
significance affecting the lives of the people
of Southern Africa.
The Swaziland Solidarity Network and the
mass democratic movement of Swaziland led
by PUDEMO have consistently expressed disgust
at the way SADC has chosen to be silent or
even prop up the Swazi dictator.
It is seriously not acceptable that the
people of Swaziland could be subjected to
a more than 33 years perpetual state of emergency
instituted by the absolute monarchy in the
name of Swazi culture, while the rest of
the world remain silent, SADC in particular
has chosen to ignore, or at worst defend
the royal crisis at its doorstep.
We have noted that Amnesty International
and other such credible institutions have
done wonderful work in terms of exposing
the royal dictatorship in Swaziland to the
world, including its compilation of such
reports as the one on Swazi police torture
camps. In the midst of all that, we still
have Commonwealth and SADC openly flirting
with that royal monster and even hailing
him for bringing about a new constitution,
which changes nothing, except that it formalizes
what the 1973 king’s absolute decree
had always provided for in pieces.
In this sense, we demand the following;
The unbanning of political parties
Swaziland be removed from the SADC committee
dealing with governance, democracy and
human rights in the region, immediately.
Free political activity and guaranteeing
of the rights to associate, organize, and
assemble without the royal hit squads brutally
dispersing people
A democratic constitutional process involving
all stakeholders in an environment without
all the political hostilities
Unconditional return of all exiles and the
release of all political prisoners
Isolation of Mswati and imposition of smart
sanctions against his regime until they comply
with all democratic obligations
We call on all the leaders of SADC gathered in Maseru to take all possible
steps to ensure the speedy democratization of Swaziland in the interest of
regional stability, democracy and development.
We call on SADC to enforce the code of conduct
of elections, which calls for multiparty
democratic elections and not some self-styled
royal circus as the tinkhundla regime conducts
in Swaziland. The people of the DRC have
shown that resilience in struggle against
despots, however determined, ultimately emerge
victorious and we congratulate them.
15 .
Security workers' yearlong struggle
pays off:
Security workers’ yearlong struggle
pays off: Multinational security provider
is forced to respect human rights
We want to express our thanks to SEIU, Labourstart,
and particularly to the more than 6000
people who wrotemails demanding that the
company
respect our rights and our country’s
laws.
More than 150 security workers for Securicor
Indonesia won a 15-month struggle with your
help—and emails from more than 6000
other people demanding the company respect
their rights and the country’s laws.
These workers were fired illegally by Securicor
and then refused back pay even after the
Indonesian Supreme Court ordered the company
to obey the law.
Over the past 15 months, Securicor Indonesia
has tried to ignore, intimidate, and undercut
our struggle to demand our rights. Through
solidarity, we have been able to show them
that Indonesian workers can take on international
corporations and win. We have heard from
the company how much the involvement of unions
and individuals
from around the world has infuriated them.
They thought they could ignore our rights
and our laws without any consequences, but
instead they found themselves in an international
spotlight. We want to express our thanks
to SEIU, Labourstart, and particularly to
the more than 6000 people who wrote emails
demanding that the company respect our rights
and our country’s laws.
This victory will make a huge difference
in our lives and those of our families. May
God bless everyone who has given us their
support. We will keep fighting for the rights
of the thousands of Group 4 Securicor workers
in Indonesia. We hope that this international
support will continue for them and for the
other Group 4 Securicor workers around the
world whose rights are being violated. Hopefully
our victory will be a step towards teaching
Group 4 Securicor management that they must
respect all workers’ rights
—Timboel
Siregar, Association of Indonesian Labor
Unions
16 .
736 Korean union members detained
in one day
736 Korean union members detained in one
day, 63 union members still in jail, 1 union
member dead, more than 200 members injured,
1 member's wife miscarried
Over 1,000 members of the Pohang local union,
an affiliate of the Korean Federation of
Construction Industry Trade Union (KFCITU)
participated in a legal and peaceful demonstration
to protest the death of Brother Ha Jeung
Keun. Blocked by the police, the union chose
to conduct a sitdown demonstration on the
streets of Seoul. The riot police responded
by forcibly arresting 736 union members including
key leadership of the KCTU, the Korean Democratic
Labor Party, and the KFCITU. Your support
is critical to put international pressure
against the South Korean government. ACT
NOW and sign our online solidarity campaign
protest letter addressed to the President
of South Korea.
On August 15, 63 union members of the KFCITU
remained in jail for supporting the strike
launched by the Pohang local union. Four
members of the national and local branches
of the KCTU and the General Secretary of
the KFCITU are also in jail.
On August 1, Ha Jeun Keun, of the Pohang
local union died during a legal demonstration
organized by the KFCITU on July 16 supporting
the union’s strike that began on July
1. For more info see, http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?Index=261&Language=EN
The union and the family have asked the government
to launch a full and impartial investigation
on the circumstances leading to the death,
fully punish those responsible for his death,
and sufficiently compensate the family of
Ha Jeung Keun. The family has refused to
proceed with any funeral ceremonies until
the government agrees to their demands.
In addition, the wife of one of the union
members who was participating in a sit-down
demonstration at POSCO headquarters tragically
miscarried as a result of violent confrontation
with the riot police during a demonstration
on July 19. The union along with a number
of women’s groups has launched a complaint
against the Human Rights Committee.
In one of the most recent rallies organized
by the KCTU, the police injured 186 union
members who marched towards POSCO headquarters
- some are still seeking medical attention.
16 members were detained - a key leader of
the KFCTIU was forcibly pulled down from
the union truck and immediately arrested.
Despite the repression by both the government
and POSCO, the Pohang local union is committed
to continue with their struggle until their
demands are fully met. Currently, the KCTU
has called for two national rallies to protest
the police violence, the government repression
against the KFCITU, and to call for the government
to accept full responsibility for the death
of Ha Jeung Keun. It is ironical that the
South Korean government is hosting the ILO
Asia Pacific Regional Meeting when it is
increasing its repression of trade union
rights.
The government’s actions have been
to protect the interests of POSCO, a major
leading South Korean company, where over
90 per cent of the Pohang members work through
a series of sub contractors. Despite the
strike, which began on July 1, negotiations
between the union and the sub contractors
are still proceeding forward, albeit in a
turtle’s pace. You will remember that
the union’s main demands are a 15 per
cent increase in wages, five-day work week,
and better working conditions.
NEHAWU National Bargaining Conference
The Bargaining Conference will in the main
provide a platform for Nehawu to review
and assess improvements in wages and conditions
of service for the past 10 years and to
reposition the union for the next 10 years
by developing a framework using collective
bargaining to advance social transformation
and development.
DATE: 18-20 August 2006
VENUE: PROTEA HOTEL “THE LAKES”
1 COUNTRY LANE
LAKEFIELD
BENONI
18. This week in history:
20 August 1975
SACCAWU/CCAWUSA- Happy 31st Birthday!
20 August 1983
UDF formed
20 August 1992
UDF disbanded
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