Taking COSATU Today Forward, 11 August 2022 #CosatuYoungWorkersMarch
Norman Mampane
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#2022YearofWorkersParliament Tomorrow, #COSATU Young Workers are leading a National March to the Unions Building #HappyWomensMonth #ClassStruggle #Back2Basics #JoinCOSATUNow #ClassConsciousness |
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
Thursday, 11 August 2022
‘Deepen
the Back to Basics Campaign, Consolidate the Struggle for the NDR and Advance the Struggle for Socialism’
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- Chaos breaks as Department of Employment and Labour inspectors shuts down “dirty, unhealthy and hazardous” Tshwane market in Marabastad in a joint departmental blitz
- South Africa
o Gauteng Health honours social workers who perished to Covid-19
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
Ø Global brands purchasing practices linked to abuse of garment workers in South Asia
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
Chaos breaks as Department of Employment and Labour inspectors shuts down “dirty, unhealthy and hazardous” Tshwane market in Marabastad in a joint departmental blitz
08 August 2022
Dozens of traders and illegal immigrants ran for cover as a joint multi-departmental inspections blitz descended at downtown Marabastad in Pretoria today, 08 August 2022 in an operation that led to the closure of the Tshwane fruit and vegetable market in Marabastad.
The joint inspection blitz was led by Department of Employment and Labour in partnership with the South African Police Service and the Department of Home Affairs' Immigration Unit. The blitz was intended to check on compliance with a suite of labour laws, compliance to immigration legislation and also deal with criminality in the area.
During the joint inspection more than 20 people were arrested for - being illegal immigrants, employing illegal immigrants and employers who obstructed the inspectors from conducting their duties. It is illegal of an employer to interfere with the inspector when on duty.
The blitz inspection also included a visit to the Oriental Retail Complex and nearby businesses – where two retail stores were also shut down for failure to comply with Occupational Health and Safety issues.
The hustle and bustle area of Marabastad is located on west of the Pretoria central business district. The area has a mix of shops from those trading in “muti", retailers, cafes, vendors amongst other.
Department of Employment and Labour Chief Director: Statutory & Advocacy Services in the Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) branch, Advocate Fikiswa Bede said the blitz inspection conducted at Marabastad Retail Market was led by the National Roving Team (NRT). She said the NRT of inspectors was beginning to have a telling impact across the country.
According to Bede the National Roving Team was established in 2021. The key element of the NRT is to bring together a team of inspectors from different provinces who are specialist in various disciplines of labour legislation such as the Unemployment Insurance Fund, Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), the Labour Relations Act (LRA), the National Minimum Wage (NMW); bring about co-operation; bring a new culture of performance; and also provide mentoring and coaching to new inspectors.
The National Roving Team has also been involved in a number of mega blitz inspections that have been conducted in provinces such as the Eastern Cape, the Western Cape, Mpumalanga among others.
The Tshwane fruit and vegetable market in Marabastad was served with a prohibition notice. In terms of an inspectors report the market has been shut down because conditions threaten, or are likely to threaten the health and/or safety of persons in terms of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act of 1993.
Traders at the market have been prohibited from the use of the building due to lack of fire-fighting equipment at strategic locations; operating in premises with open electrical wires; non-compliance with electrical installation which poses risk of electrocution and fire.
The prohibition notice will be removed once the owners of the building comply with the notice.
Bede said Marabastad was becoming a high risk area for non-compliance with labour legislation and needed a sustained attention. She said she was concerned that many of traders in the area seemed oblivious to issues of compliance.
“It is either people here are ignorant of the law or they are just carrying on with their business without regards of consequences," she said.
An immigration official during the blitz said there was a need for follow-up inspections to hit hard on non-compliance.
For more information, contact:
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
082 697 0694
-ENDS-
Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour
South Africa
Gauteng Health honours social workers who perished to Covid-19
9 Aug 2022
Department
honours social workers who perished to Covid-19
Covid-19 has had a detrimental impact on our lives and, has unfortunately, robbed us of colleagues within the Department. Last week Friday, the Department honoured the social workers who passed on during the pandemic by having a candle lighting ceremony at
the Nokuthula Special School in Lyndhurst, North of Johannesburg.
Social workers from the five regions in the province, arrived in numbers wearing green and black in honour of their fallen colleagues. An official from Rays of Hope, Muchayedi, led the program of the day and reminded the social workers that they need to bring back the respect and dignity within the social work industry.
The Registrar for the South African Council for Social Services Professions (SACSSP), Langi Malamba, thanked Social Workers for the effort they put to ensure that the memories of the dearly departed colleagues are cherished. Malamba also guided Social Workers as they recited their professional pledge.
The bereaved family members received portraits of the fallen daughters and sons. Social Worker, Brenda Maluleke, said that the families are not alone and that social workers will stand by them during the hard times that they may face.
Issued by: Gauteng Health
International-Solidarity
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Global brands purchasing practices linked to abuse of garment workers in South Asia
10 August, 2022
Purchasing practices of global brands are increasing the risk of abuse for workers at the far end of the supply chain in the textile and garment sector.
There
are several reports of gross violations of workers’ rights in garment manufacturing units in South Asia where
most of the production for global apparel brands takes place. Women,
who make up more than 80 per cent of the workforce in the sector, experience sexual harassment at work daily. IndustriALL affiliates in the region have repeatedly highlighted the issue, which has worsened over time as production catered for the fast-changing
needs of the sector.
The
abuse of women is systemic, where deeply rooted patriarchy plays a vital role in ensuring the control of women on the shopfloor. The abuse by men in authority is manifested in the form of gender-based violence and harassment. The abuse ranges from groping,
touching, leaning, hitting, punching, slapping, pulling hair, offensive comments about their body, sexual jokes, obscene gestures, and offensive text messages, among others.
Violence
is also used as a tool by management to ensure productivity. Women are constantly mocked -- for not working fast enough to meet the production target but also for taking washroom breaks, their attire, menstruation, and pregnancy. A member of an IndustriALL
affiliate in India reported that her supervisor threatened her with rape if she failed to complete the work.
Affiliates
in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh shared that production managers and supervisors frequently seek sexual relationships with workers promising benefits like pay raises, and reduced workloads. Workers who refuse these offers risk punishment, including being fired,
due to the power hierarchy between male supervisors and women workers. Threats of dismissals are also frequently used to ‘discipline’ workers on the shopfloor.
Anton Marcus, general secretary of IndustriALL affiliate Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union, says:
“Workers are sexually harassed and abused not only on the shopfloor but also while commuting to work, and in their hostel accommodation. We have seen that compared to their male counterparts, female machine operators are subjected to greater criticism and abuse from their supervisors.”
The
stigma associated with reporting sexual harassment and laxity in the implementation of the rule of law deters workers from reporting the abuse. This in turn emboldens perpetrators to continue the harassment. In cases where women report abuse, they are often
penalized by management to set a precedent for other workers to toe the line. Either they are retrenched on flimsy charges, or they find themselves in the spiral of continuous abuse where their targets are increased, leave denied, wages deducted on arbitrary
charges. Sometimes they are transferred to precarious jobs. As
a result, affiliates in the region find it extremely challenging to respond to cases of sexual harassment.
Rampant
sexual harassment reported by our affiliates poses a risk not just to the workers experiencing it, but also to brands sourcing from these workplaces. They are ultimately responsible for working conditions in their supply chains and hence need to ensure that
the women working are safe at their workplaces.
There
are mechanisms now in place such as the RMG Sustainability Council complaint mechanism in Bangladesh and the national monitoring committees set up under the global framework agreement that IndustriALL has with H&M which can deal with issues of sexual harassment,
apart from the legal recourse available. The affiliates are educating their membership to use these mechanisms to address sexual harassment. Brands will have to do their part by getting their suppliers to respect and follow these mechanisms.
Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL regional secretary for South Asia says:
“The fight against sexual harassment and gender-based violence is an integral part of the fight for decent work in the supply chains. The responsibility for dealing with this toxicity in the garment supply chain ultimately lies with the big retail brands that profit from the supply chains. Collective action is needed to ensure that brands take responsibility.”
__________________________
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