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The South African Federation of Trade Unions - and unions affiliated with the federation - applied pressure to companies employing their members on Thursday, with unified demonstrations highlighting worker struggles.
The federation put its weight behind members of the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) and the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw), in their ongoing disputes with pharmacy giant Dis-Chem Pharmacies [JSE:DCP], Edcon, Premier Foods [JSE:PFF] and the plastics sector.
Saftu is the labour federation which Numsa, Fawu and Nupsaw are now affiliated with, since Numsa cut ties with its former labour federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions.The labour federation and the two unions marched to Parliament on Thursday morning for better wages and working conditions.
Nupsaw went on strike at Dis-Chem in November, demanding minimum salaries of R12 500 and guaranteed bonuses. The union claims to represent 14% of the pharmaceutical chain's employees.
The march also showed support for Fawu, the union on strike at Premier Foods’ Blue Ribbon operations in Salt River Cape Town, where the union demanded a salary increase of 10%.
Saftu asked that the Department of Labour intervene in what it called the plastic sector’s attempt to "justify reneging on an agreement to cut the minimum wage of the lowest grades (of workers) from R40 an hour to R20 an hour".
A picket was also held outside one of Edgars' facilities, warning the company against retrenching staff as part of its recapitalisation plan.
Meanwhile, Numsa is in the process of covering its bases for a radical workers party, which will contest power at next year’s general elections.
Numsa, which is South Africa’s largest union, took part in a protracted strike in the plastics industry towards the end of the year, demanding a 15% increase in salaries for workers.
