NUMSA STATEMENT ON THE OUTCOMES OF NATIONAL STRIKE COMMITTEE (NSC) MEETING
16 July 2014
The National Strike Committee (NSC) was held yesterday Tuesday 15 July 2014, at Vincent Mabuyakhulu Conference Centre (VMCC), Newtown, Johannesburg. The NSC was attended by representatives drawn from our nine (9) Regions, including worker-leaders. The key mandate of the NSC was to receive detailed reports on the ongoing Engineering/Metals sector from all our fifty-one Locals, across the length and breadth of country.
The NSC was emboldened by the massive and growing strength and success of the strike in all corners of the country: in major industrial areas, affluent cities and rural towns, where the toiling Black and African working class sells its labour power for a pittance. We salute the hundreds of thousands of our members that swamped the streets, since the strike begin on July 01, 2014.
We appreciate the mounting growth of the strike, and welcome MEWUSA; CEPPWAWU; SEAWA; UASA and GIWUSA who have also joined the picket lines to demand a Living Wage for workers. This worker-to-worker unity irrespective of one's union logo's or t-shirts colours, not only unifies workers, but builds worker's power from below to confront the hegemony of capital on the shopfloor and fight for equal redistribution of wealth. This is consistent with the worker's battle cry of "an injury to one; an injury to all".
During the NSC proceedings, the meeting was alerted to news wire reports, that the Steel and Engineering Industry Federation of South Africa (Seifsa), through its maverick Chief Executive Kaiser Nyatsumba, had withdrawn its conditional offer and that there would be no further engagements. This was neither surprising nor shocking! In honesty, Nyatsumba is a supreme example of a rented agent to perpetuate and drive racist, colonial slave wages by White bosses dominating the industry. Nyantsumba must explain why it is only the Black and African working class who are on strike in the metals and engineering industries!
This clearly shows that Seifsa has succumbed to cowardly pressures of NEASA, PCASA and Boarder, to retain and reproduce colonial apartheid wages, even though they are the majority employer in the industry. We remain firm that the employer's offer exemplifies the"chicken-and-pig scenario; chicken offers to lay eggs for breakfast; but asks pig to donate a beacon". We reiterate that the offer has been unanimously rejected by workers, through a democratic and transparent process, in line with our established practices as a worker-controlled union.
The unprincipled and dishonest manner in which Seifsa has been engaging has resulted in the strike being prolonged, and they should squarely shoulder the blame. We refuse to be blackmailed by self-anointed Spokespersons of the bosses, that our legitimate strike will plunge the economy and the country into a recession.
Such blatantly racist insinuations and misguided commentary designed to protect the profits of the bosses and maintain the colonial wage structure are devoid of truth. It is the bosses and the politicians who should be held responsible for the continuing racist colonial wage structure after 1994 and mismanaging the economy, which combined have resulted into high levels of inequality, escalating unemployment rate and mass poverty, amongst the majority Black and African working class.
Our members are united and they have resolved that nothing will divide them or weaken their strike for a Living Wage and improved benefits. Furthermore, they remain united on a principled double-digit wage increases; scrapping of Labour Brokers; Housing Allowance of R1000. The workers are adamant that Section 37 of the Main Agreement is fundamental and important, because it will assist to end scrupulous and discriminatory practices by employers to give allowances and other benefits to higher-paid workers.
The union has made a public call to all our striking members to be vigilant and guard against agent provocateurs or rotten none Numsa elements that want to hijack the strike. We have put in place extra measures to ensure that all our actions and pickets are peaceful. In the same breadth, we remain humbled by high levels of discipline and maturity displayed by our members.
The NSC, as duly mandated by the National Executive Committee (NEC), has developed a maximum Programme of Action (PoA) to intensify and accelerate the strike action. The Regional and Local Strike Committee's will be drawing up details and actions that will be taking place in various areas of our country.
Some of the important activities that the union will roll-out immediately include;
Report back to members on Seifsa's withdrawal of the offer;
Inform workers in the plastics companies and labour brokers in Engineering ,House Agreement and Eskom plants that they are protected to join the strike;
Mobilise for protest marches in selected cities and towns;
Convene General Meetings in industrial areas and communities,
Hold solidarity lunch-time Pickets & Demonstrations in Sectors linked or affected by Engineering/Metals Motor strike, namely Auto, Tyre & Rubber, Eskom, Mining, and Transnet
We know history is on our side. We shall prevail in our fight against unjust racist and colonial wages!
Statement issued by Castro Ngobese, NUMSA national spokesperson, July 16 2014
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
