Johannesburg – March 18th, 2014
WFTU Africa wholeheartedly and without any reservations support the socioeconomic strike authorised and organised by one of our affiliated unions in South Africa, Numsa.
We believe that all workers who heed Numsa’s call and join in the protected socio-economic strike will enjoy statutory protection irrespective of whether they are Numsa members or not, and whether they do not belong to no union.
It is our view that workers and the unemployed must join the strike as it is aimed at exposing the ‘neo-liberal policies of Treasury that are trying to re-introduce the hated Youth Wage Subsidy by another name’, as the YCL said in its opposition to the Employment Tax Incentive Act.
World Bank’s “balance of evidence” found out that these employment’s subsidies real cost (to the economy) are often hard to calculate – particularly their direct toll to the public purse. They swop older for younger workers through dismissals and/or rehiring of ‘qualifying employees’ or these young workers would have been hired anyway, but now with incentives which are used as tax breaks.
They always result in more harm than good and are socially regressive transfer of tax money to profits and tax breaks for employers and are against good government policy purpose of doing what is better for society.
The above is supported by Cosatu, ILO, UNCTAD, etc.
WFTU’s view is that unemployment creates a’ reserved army of cheap labour’ which is inherent to the capitalist system South Africa has; it is in its DNA. Capitalism view labour as a cheap commodity to be exploited for profit maximization.
The 1991Alliance leadership meeting resolved that “the massive 2days anti-vat strike was a vote of confidence in the demand that government must stop unilateralism. South Africans will not tolerate any unilateralism and this popular referendum was a total rejection of this stance. What SA needs is a (Nedlac) forum that should negotiate an overview of economic policy and ensure a moratorium on unilateralism. Also the 1992 budget should be planned and negotiated in this forum”.
This Act by Treasury is also very much against what Economic Development Department found in 2012 when EDD said favouring younger over older workers leads to displacements and what ANC’s 2012 Mangaung Conference resolved on interventions that do not jeopardise existing jobs or undermine worker rights.
It is on the above basis that WFTU Africa pledges its working class solidarity with this strike by the South African working class.
ISSUED BY:
VUYO BIKITSHA
WFTU Africa
Cell : 0832538647