The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) in Kwa-Zulu Natal will be meeting with the management team of ITB Plastics and Isithebe Consulting Solutions (ICS) today, under the auspices of the CCMA for conciliation, in the hope that we can resolve the strike. This is the fourth week of the strike. Two weeks ago the companies failed to interdict the strike at the Durban Labour Court.  The parasitic ICS is a labour brokering company providing services to ITB Plastics. Our members are demanding a living wage and improved working conditions. ITB Plastics is a plastics manufacturing company in iSithebe in Kwa-Zulu Natal. It is owned by NOVUS Holdings and has a total staff complement of 500 people.

These companies do not recognize the humanity of workers. They have installed cameras in the bathrooms which is a violation of privacy. They are also exploiting workers by paying extremely low wages, whilst others are abused through the labour brokering system. Dozens of workers should have been made permanent long ago, but ITB is one of those companies which is deliberately flouting the labour law on this issue.

Some companies refuse to implement the labour law because they want to be able to exploit workers indefinitely. They make huge profits when using labour brokers because they save money, by paying workers slave wages. This is precisely why NUMSA has called for a banning of labour brokers, because employers cannot be trusted to implement the labour law.

We hope this meeting will resolve the concerns which our members have raised, so that we can resolve the strike.

Aluta continua!

The struggle continues!

Issued by Mbuso Ngubane
NUMSA Regional Secretary
0795023242

For more information, please contact:
Phakamile Hlubi-Majola
NUMSA National Spokesperson

0833767725