South African Federation Of Trade Unions Call For Nationwide Strike On Wednesday

JOHANNESBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th February, 2021) OHANNESBURG, February 24 (Sputnik), Thabiso Lehoko - The South African Federation of Trade Unions and the Pan African Congress movement has mobilized workers across the country to stay at home and away from work on Wednesday.

The trade union and PAC will stage the main protest at parliament in the Western Cape ahead of Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's budget speech to the country this afternoon.

The strike comes a day after a shocking announcement on the unemployment figures by Stats South SA. According to Stats SA, the number of unemployed persons increased by 701 thousand to 7.2 million, employment rose by 333 thousand to 15 million and the labor force went up by 1 million to 22.3 million. Stats SA says under the expanded definition of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers; 11.1-million people are out of work. The expanded unemployment rate is 42.6% in Q4 2020.

Unionists said the latest job figures are a scathing indictment on policymakers and the decision-makers, especially the National Treasury.

The South African Federation of Trade Unions General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the aim of the nationwide strike is to send a strong message to the Government.

"The ruling African National Congress must know that workers cannot breathe. The recent unemployment figures a frightening. The country is about to implode. The country is confronted by other pandemics like violence, poverty, inequality has reached breaking records. 25 years down the line South Africans are still living in abject poverty. Jobs, wages, food, electricity are a problem and healthcare is overburdened. The current economic structure is clearly not working. It is a reproduction of poverty.

52% of black women are unemployed. Where do you see such figures in the world? We are calling on workers to stay unified," Vavi told Sputnik.

Meanwhile, the Congress of South African Trade Unions said in a statement that COVID 19 has exposed the shortcomings of Neoliberalism. The trade union said it is important for workers to unite and work together to demand an alternative macroeconomic framework that is geared towards addressing the basic needs of the people. It said workers demand economic transformation, the strengthening of the public service, and renewed efforts to build a capable developmental state that will address the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty, and inequalities in our society. COSATU said it would have had loved to join the strike, but it coincided with the federation's three-day Central Executive Committee meeting.

The Pan African Congress of South Africa has reiterated SAFTU's stance and said it will be joining the union at its various protests across the country. PAC said it had also mobilized enough workers to bolster the strike action and have blamed Government for the country's economic woes.

"The workers are suffering because of the continued corruption in government. As PAC we have mobilized our workers across the country to rally with SAFTU and address our collective grievances. Some of our workers are going to stay away from work while others will be at the various centres where the strikes will take place. Yes, Covid-19 has contributed but corruption has exacerbated matters to become worst. This strike will put pressure on the government to heed the workers' call. We will obviously observe Covid-19 regulations," Apa Pooe PAC Secretary General said.