The National Office Bearers (NOBs’) of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) send their unflinching and worker-to-worker solidarity with the striking Gold mineworkers under the leadership of our revolutionary and fraternal trade union – the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
About 90 000 workers in the mining Gold sector have downed tools since yesterday September 04, 2013, after the filthy rich and stinking greedy mining ruling oligarchy as represented by the Chamber of Mines, refused to concede to wage demands of workers. This clearly demonstrates that the mining oligarchy is hell-bent of reversing the democratic gains of workers, particularly the mineworkers by perpetuating and reproducing apartheid Bantu income inequalities and horrendous living conditions.
We call on the striking workers to use this strike not only for wage increases and demands, but also to forge maximum unity amongst workers, and also to defend their hard-won right to bargain, amidst the sustained ideological offensive by the greedy mining bosses to undermine our collective bargaining dispensation, as promulgated by our nascent democratic regime.
We reject the scare tactics being used by self-appointed Spokespersons of the exploiting class, the so-called “Economic Analysts”, by referring to these ongoing class struggles for a Living Wage by workers as the “strike season”. In our view this is nothing, but a scare crow to delegitimize the genuine and reasonable demands of workers in modern day Capitalist South Africa. The scandalous triple crisis of poverty, unemployment and inequality, as well as the Apartheid wage gap that exists in our country legitimizes the struggles of workers for a decent Living Wage.
We demand that these so-called or self-anointed Spokesperson of the ruling and exploiting class – Economic Analysts – must publicly disclose their incomes and the income of Executives in different sectors of our economy, so that the public can better understand the disparity in the national income.
As Numsa, in solidarity with our fellow workers and class brothers, we call on the mining ruling oligarchy to concede to the demand of the striking mineworkers. The failure by to the mining bosses to do so, we will call on COSATU to mobilize its Affiliates to embark on solidarity actions in support of the mineworkers demands.
Furthermore, is firmly behind the struggles in struggles of construction workers, aviation workers wage demands as led by SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) and postal and broadcasting workers struggles led by Communication Workers Union (CWU).
An injury to one is an injury to all.
Contact:
Castro Ngobese
National Spokesperson
Mobile: 0810111137
Twitter: @castrongobese
Email: castron@numsa.org.za
Website: www.numsa.org.za