The South African Communist Party (SACP) says Sunday’s action by workers during May Day celebrations in Rustenburg, North West, was justifiable. As the world was commemorating Workers’ Day, here in South Africa, workers took their frustration to ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa.
They accused him of lack of implementation of the 2018 wage agreement. The SACP’s Dr Alex Mashilo says it is time for the ANC-led government to put the needs of the working class first.
Dr Mashilo elaborates on his comments:
Dr Mashilo says if there is no drastic action taken to resolve the plight of workers, the political ramifications will continue to cripple through the ANC-led tripartite alliance.
“As the SACP, we warned that the bureaucratic that the government followed in handling that matter, ignored its political ramifications and indeed we saw some of this political ramifications playing themselves out during the November local government elections and culminating in what happened in Rustenburg. In so far as the protest that happened yesterday involved workers affiliated to public sector unions.”
Government needs to acknowledge plight of workers
COSATU’s President Zingiswa Losi, “It is a very unfortunate situation the fact that the proceedings could not continue and the alliance partners were not able to speak. In terms of workers voicing their frustrations, for me it was the correct platform for them to do that. It was during their day where we were taking stock and part of that is we must acknowledge that there are challenges in the sectors of the economy, such as mining, where negotiations are taking place and workers have been on strike for the past 51 days.” – Additional reporting by Risha-Maduray
