More than 100 workers,
many of them wearing red T-shirts, were gathered at the Pieter Rose Park in
Johannesburg on Wednesday morning ahead of the Congress of South African Trade
Unions (COSATU) multi-purpose march. The march was expected to draw thousands.
Some
marchers are being transported to Parktown while others are walking to the
gathgering point.
The
march is a protest against retrenchments in the mining and steel sectors,
e-tolls, the high rate of unemployment and joblessness.
eNCA report continues:
COSATU
members will later march to Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s office, the
Department of Labour, the Chambers of Commerce, Chambers of Business and
Telkom.
Meanwhile,
hundreds of workers gathered in Cape Town ahead of a march that formed part of
the international campaign, World Day for Decent Work.
Asked
why they were marching, twin sisters Natasha Cleophas and Vanessa Miggel said they
were sick of arriving late for work because of public transport.
“The
buses and trains are late everyday and then we lose our jobs,” said Cleophas.
Both
sisters, who worked in the textile and clothing industries, said another
frustration of theirs was decreased pay when returning from maternity leave.
“You
leave getting paid 100 percent of your salary, and then you return getting paid
80 percent,” said Miggel.
An
industry peer, Nuraan Cassiem, said government needed to adjust municipal rates
according to income bracket.
“Our
industry is the lowest paid [sic] yet we are expected to pay the same as higher
earners,” said Cassiem.
She
added that bosses chose to ignore the workers’ plight.
“When
we’re late because of having to take two trains and two taxis, the boss says
it’s not his job to get us to work on time,” she said.
“So,
what else can we do but march?”.
-
Africa News Agency
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