---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Patrick Craven <[email protected]> Date: Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 5:43 PM Subject: [COSATU Press] COSATU's response to interdict To: [email protected]
*COSATU’s response to interdict* The Congress of South African Trade Unions has noted the Labour Court interdict granted to the state today, which prohibits workers in essential services from participating in the public servants strike, from intimidating or assaulting non-striking employees and members of the public, and preventing damage of any property belonging to the state or the erection of obstructions to any state property. The Labour Court also ordered that the public sector unions that are participating in the strike will pay the costs of the interdict application. COSATU reaffirms its total support for the strike by the public service unions for their fully justified demands for a living wage and better working conditions. Once again we insist that the government should urgently return to the bargaining council with a new offer which can be negotiated and put to the members, so that the dispute can be resolved and the strike ended as early as possible. COSATU regrets the disruption to public services which the strike has caused and any violent incidents or damage to property, and maintains its insistence that all actions during the strike must be conducted in a peaceful, disciplined and lawful manner and condemns acts of violence or intimidation by anyone. The federation will not however accept that all such incidents can be blamed on striking workers. There is clear evidence of provocative actions by management and police. COSATU also calls for an urgent agreement on essential services which defines precisely which workers can be banned from striking and will oppose any attempt to use the interdict to try to force any non-essential workers back to work. To prevent any such incidents COSATU demands that there must be consultation at local level between the unions, management and state authorities to establish guidelines for picketing so that strikers can exercise their legal right to talk to other workers and members of the public without any violence. The federation remains willing at any time to facilitate talks between the parties so that progress towards a settlement can be speeded up. Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson) Congress of South African Trade Unions 1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets Braamfontein, 2017 P.O. Box 1019 Johannesburg, 2000 SOUTH AFRICA Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24 Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940/ 086 603 9667 Cell: 0828217456 E-Mail: [email protected] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "COSATU-press". Visit this group at http://groups-beta.google.com/group/COSATU-press for archived statements. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit the COSATU web site at http://www.cosatu.org.za/homep.htm -- Gugu Ndima +27 76 783 1516 -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
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