COSATU condemns shootings 01-06-07

 

COSATU condemns shootings

The Congress of South African Trade Unions is outraged that on a day of protest that was in every other respect a resounding and peaceful success, police allegedly fired stun grenades at striking workers at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town and violently forced workers at other hospitals to stop picketing.

There can be no conceivable excuse for such brutality and an attempt to deny workers their fundamental right to protest in the course of a legal, protected strike. It is all the more shocking that the attacks were allegedly perpetrated by police officers whose unions are fully involved in the strike.

We welcome the fact that COSATU in the Western Cape are to meet senior police officers this afternoon and trust that assurances will be given that there will be no repetition of any such action by the police.
A full report of the day's events will be given at a media briefing 1t 18h00 tonight (Please see separate notice).

Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets
Braamfontein, 2017
P.O. Box 1019
Johannesburg, 2000
SOUTH AFRICA
Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24
Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940/ 086 603 9667
Cell: 0828217456
E-Mail: patr...@cosatu.org.za