HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
---------------------------
AFP (with additional material by AP). 1 October 2002. Thousands of
marchers gather against privatisation in S. Africa.
JOHANNESBURG -- Blowing whistles and singing protest songs, tens of
thousands of workers across South Africa marched Tuesday in a nationwide
strike protesting the government's privatization plans.
Unions said the first day of the two-day strike was a resounding
success.
"We must defend the rights of the ordinary worker," Materene Wu-Mapemi,
a Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) leader told a crowd of
thousands at a public square in downtown Johannesburg.
"If there is privatization, your rights will be taken away," he said.
Simultaneous rallies were held in other cities throughout the country.
COSATU said at least 180,000 people participated in marches around the
country, and about 60 percent of workers joined the strike. The mining
industry was nearly shut down with 80 percent absenteeism, it said.
In Johannesburg, workers marched with voices raised and fists clenched,
carrying banners reading: "It's Expensive to be Poor. Stop Privatization
Now" and "Create Decent Jobs."
Organizers estimated the crowd at 60,000.
The marchers went to the provincial legislature and the offices of three
state-owned companies slated for privatization.
Public bus service was shut down in parts of the center of the country
because of the strike and in Cape Town about 2,000 workers marched on
Parliament.
COSATU President Willie Madisha told the Cape Town protesters they were
marching against unemployment, poverty and hunger.
"This is the beginning of the long struggle against privatization," he
said, according to the South African Press Association.
The South African Communist Party, also supported the strike.
Watched by a contingent of police, which included at least two armoured
cars, the protesters -- many dressed in red union T-shirts -- gathered
at Beyers Naude Square, in the city centre.
One of the protestors said she was angry because she had not seen any
change since democratic elections in 1994.
"There's no food, no money, no jobs, nothing," unionist Poppie Mhlambe
told AFP.
"It's the government's fault. I voted for the ANC before but I will
never vote for them again," she said.
"Privatization does not save the poor, it makes the poor poorer," said
Morris Mtshali, 31.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ProletarianNews
http://www.utopia2000.org
with photos
---------------------------
ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST
==^================================================================
This email was sent to: [email protected]
EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu
Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail!
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register
==^================================================================
