Taking COSATU Today Forward, 24 August 2021
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #DefendCollectiveBargainingNow #UnionizeNow |
Taking COSATU Today Forward
‘Whoever sides with the revolutionary people in deed as well as in word is a revolutionary in the full sense’-Maoo
Our side of the story
Tuesday,
24 August 2021
‘Deepen
the Back to Basics Campaign, Consolidate the Struggle
for the NDR and Advance the Struggle for Socialism’
Join COSATU Now
Fight against intransigence of employers who do not register workers with UIF at all workplaces!
Mobilize against #COVID19 infections Now!
We
shall overcome!
Contents
o Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU Gauteng to picket at the Constitutional Court and the Department of Public Service and Administration
- UIF to open online system to process claims for WABU temporary financial relief scheme
o South Africa
- Freedom Park Celebrates Women On 24 August 2021
o International-Workers’ Solidarity!
Ø Workers at General Motors' Silao plant secure historic win
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
COSATU Gauteng to picket at the Constitutional Court and the Department of Public Service and Administration
Loiusa Modikwe, COSATU Gauteng Provincial Secretary, 23 August 2021
The Congress of South African Trade Unions in Gauteng will be picketing at the Constitutional Court on the 24th of August 2021 in defence of collective bargaining. This comes after government reneged on the implementation of the last leg of PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2018 and took public sector unions to the labour court that ruled in favour of the government.
Collective bargaining is enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the Labour Relations Act and will be defended. The government has turned against workers and the working class through austerity measures which are destroying the livelihood of workers and the working class broadly.
We will fight this heinous act by the government until the last drop of our blood in defence of the hard-won victories by our forebears.
The non-implementation of the last leg of PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2018 came at the time when South Africa is fighting Covid-19.
Most public servants are frontline workers who are a buffer between the deadly Covid-19 and the saving of lives, but the government decided to ignore their livelihood.
Covid-19 resulted in more economic distress in this country that resulted in job losses, increases in food, fuel, rates, and service and electricity prices. Whilst this is a reality that affects South Africans broadly, public servants have not received their 2020 salary increases.
With this being the case, COSATU in Gauteng calls all public servants to stand up and fight for constitutional rights and attend pickets at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg and the DPSA in Tshwane.
Public servants can either fight or starve hence COSATU chose to fight.
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UIF to open online system to process claims for WABU temporary financial relief scheme
20 August 2021
The Unemployment Insurance Fund will start accepting applications for the Workers Affected by Unrest (WABU): Temporary Financial Relief Scheme from 25 August 2021.
The financial relief scheme has been established to assist workers whose workplaces have been closed due to recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, resulting in workers receiving partial renumeration or no pay at all.
According to the recently published Directive employers will be required to apply on behalf of affected workers, and they will have to meet the following qualifying conditions:
- the employer will have to register or be registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund;
- the employer’s closure must be directly linked to the destruction, damage or looting of its workplace;
- the employer must provide details of the destruction, closure, or damage to, or looting of, its workplace and submit documentary proof of a report to the South African Police Services, with proof that a case has been opened by providing a case number, and, if insured, proof of submission and acknowledgement of receipt of the insurance claim.
- the employer must confirm in writing or electronically that – he/she accepts the terms of the Scheme herein and any procedure document issued by Unemployment Insurance Fund, and
- submit any other information that the Minister or UIF Commissioner may require to assess eligibility of claim.
Payment of the WABU: Temporary Financial Relief will be directly into the worker’s bank account unless the UIF Commissioner specifies the conditions under which payments can be made into the employer’s account.
"Therefore, as the UIF we urge employers to ensure that banking details of employees are correct and that they are also declared on our database to avoid delays with payments," said Advocate Mzie Yawa, acting UIF Commissioner.
The relief will be paid at a flat rate of R3 500.00 to ensure that the UIF envelope is stretched to cover all affected workers. The benefit is de-linked from the UIF’s normal benefits, therefore the normal rule that for every 4 (four) days worked, the employee accumulates a one-day credit, and the maximum credit days’ payable is 365 for every 4 (four) years, does not apply. This will enable workers who have no credits to receive financial support whilst their workplaces are in the process of rebuilding or reopening.
Employers would be required to submit claims via the TERS Online portal (uifecc.labour.gov.za) once the system goes live next Wednesday midnight.
Media enquiries:
Makhosonke Buthelezi
Director: UIF Communication & Marketing
071 491 7236
Or
Musa Zondi: Acting Departmental Spokesperson
"Please continue adhering to the lockdown regulations. Wash hands or sanitise your hands regularly and wear your mask at all times."
-ENDS-
Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour
South Africa
Freedom Park Celebrates Women On 24 August 2021
Freedom Park, a National Heritage Site, will on Tuesday 24 August 2021 commemorate the role of women in the struggle for freedom. The focus of the event is primarily to celebrate the 65th anniversary, of the 1956 women protest, against the repressive pass laws.
The event is intended to remember the gains, made by the more than 20 000 women, of all races, who marched to the Union Buildings on the 9 August 1956, to present a petition to the then Prime Minister JG Strydom, to protest the introduction of the apartheid pass laws for black women.
Tribute shall also be paid, to pioneers of the women movement dating back to 1913, when women like Charlotte Mannye - Maxeke, encouraged women to participate in the struggle for freedom. The theme for the event is” Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights for an Equal Future”.
Speakers from various backgrounds are expected to share their personal stories relating to the theme. Freedom Park CEO Jane Mufamadi shall deliver a welcome address. The event shall also feature storytelling by Freedom Park storytellers.
Members of the Media are invited at follows:
Date: 24 August 2021
Time: 10h00-12h00
Venue: Freedom Park, Pretoria
General Enquiries: Magda Strydom: Ma...@freedompark.co.za/ 082 570 9745
Media Enquiries: Naomi Madima: na...@freedompark.co.za/ 060 961 3851
ISSUED BY GCIS ON BEHALF OF FREEDOM PARK
23 AUGUST 2021
International
Workers at General Motors' Silao plant secure historic win
23 August, 2021
On 17 and 18 August, workers at the General Motors (GM) plant in Silao, Mexico, voted against the current collective bargaining agreement, which since 2008 has been controlled by Tereso Medina, general secretary of the Miguel Trujillo López union, affiliated to the business-friendly Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM).
A total of 6,480 workers cast their ballot. There were 2,623 votes in favour of the agreement, 3,214 against, and 39 spoiled ballots. As a result, the current collective agreement will be scrapped.
Workers will not lose any of their rights, and their benefits and working conditions will remain the same until new representatives are elected.
"The union should now get to sign a new collective employment agreement,”
explained Héctor de la Cueva, general coordinator for Mexico’s centre for employment and labour relations research (CILAS), at a press conference.
The victory is unprecedented for the workers at the GM plant, which employs close to 7,000 people. The workers had reported serious irregularities in the voting process during the initial ballot in April this year and lodged the first-ever complaint under the rapid response mechanism, provided for in the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).
To ensure a free, safe and transparent voting process, free from harassment and intimidation, the Mexican and US governments agreed to repeat the vote in the presence of independent observers from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Mexico's National Electoral Institute (INE), alongside federal work inspectors from the country's labour ministry.
Many of Mexico's democratically run unions – including the federation of independent unions in the automobile, automotive parts, aerospace and tyre industries (FESIIAAAN), the “Generando Movimiento” union, the new central union of workers (NCT) and the Los Mineros union – set up camp outside the plant to show their support for the GM workers during the voting process.
At the international level, IndustriALL Global Union affiliates in the United States and Canada, as well as the regional network of GM workers, followed this key vote closely and were very happy with the outcome.
IndustriALL Global Union's general secretary, Valter Sanches, says:
"We congratulate the brave workers at GM's Silao plant for their determination and for their victorious struggle for freedom of association. It's clear that we still have much work to do, but the workers can count on IndustriALL Global Union and our affiliates around the world. We will be by their side, helping them to secure full union freedom and dignified working conditions. The outcome of this ballot brings great hope and new prospects for workers in Mexico."
__________________________
Norman Mampane (Shopsteward Editor)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
110 Jorissen Cnr Simmonds Street, Braamfontein, 2017
P.O.Box 1019, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 339-4911 Direct line: 010 219-1348