Cosatu support workers in wage dispute

By Anele Siwa
4 July 2007

The Congress of South African Trade Unions is fully supportive of the National Union of Mine Workers strike.

This came after the Chamber of Mines has tabled a 6% wage increase to the unions’ demands for 15%.

Members of National Unions of Mineworkers told the union’s recent central committee, they are not prepared to take less than 15% this year.

NUM says, for many years the workers have made huge profits for these companies and have not been forthcoming in wage increases.

Eskom’s 20 000 employees, are locked in a wage dispute.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and Solidarity, are threatening industrial action.

Pay talks are set to resume on Thursday, around the unions’ demand for a 10% pay rise and minimum service agreement.

Vodacom workers began striking on Monday, and more are expected to join today. This however has caused great concern among the Communications Workers Union.

"Cosatu is fully backing the workers and the unions who are involved in the huge number of disputes of present time", says Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven.

Craven added that although all these disputes are different they all have one common threat that the workers like the public service workers are demanding that they get pay increases.