YCLSA condemns the dismissal of soldiers by the Minister of Defence and Military veterans

The Young communist league of South Africa (UFasimba) would like to condemn the Minister for dismissing soldiers that were involved in the strike action (see report). We believe that this does not help the matter but exacerbates it further. The YCLSA strongly opposes the violent nature of the action by the soldiers who are members of the South African National Defence Union.

The YCLSA believes that there is no form of grievance that justifies violence and threat to national security. However, dismissing soldiers who are bread winners and heads of family households implies that the Minister is using dismissal as a political tool to avoid dealing with the gist of the matter.

 We call on the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans not to solve the problem by avoiding it, but by urgently giving the soldiers a hearing. We believe that the concerns of the soldiers, especially related to wages and transformation of the military, are genuine and should be addressed.

Labour practises should be applied to any worker irrespective of their occupation.  We condemn any attempt to try and bar soldiers from being members of trade unions, and do not agree with the sentiments made by the MKVA. We therefore call upon the Minister to meet with representatives of both unions and come to an amicable solution to the matter at hand.

Statement issued by the Young Communist League, September 1 2009

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