Cosatu condemns police brutality against striking workers 16-08-07

 

COSATU FS/NC condemns police brutality against striking workers

16 August 2007

COSATU Free State/Northern Cape is shocked to learn that about 40-50 members of the Food and Allied Workers' Union, employed by Oranjerivier Wine Cellars in Upington in the Northern Cape and the union official have been arrested today. The arrest came after the wage negotiations reaching deadlock yesterday.

It is our view that police cannot be used to further the interests of employers on matters of labour. Clearly this company is using the old strategy of arresting innocent workers when they demand their rights. We are calling for the political head in the province to intervene in this matter and those arrested to be released. Workers will not be silenced through a strategy of arresting them and removing them from their area of work.

We are calling upon the Oranjerivier Wine Cellars management to ensure that competent HR personnel who understand labour issues are leading and managing the company rather than employing a person who does not have skills to deal with labour disputes. What is happening in this company indicates a weak HR management strategy of being unable to resolve disputes that arises between the employees and the company; hence they will always resort to calling the police to rescue them and to change the focus from the labour matter to something else. Workers do not just embark on an action without being provoked or forced to do so.

We call upon the MEC for Safety and Security to immediately intervene in this situation and ensure that those workers arrested are released and that police personnel are not used to further the management's aims, as if it has happened in this company, because clearly the company have failed to negotiate in good faith and resorted to calling the police to intervene on their behalf.

STATEMENT MADE BY

Sam Mashinini

COSATU Provincial Secretary

082 563 6954