Public transport in Cape Town will operate as usual on Thursday amid a planned national shutdown by trade union federation Cosatu.
The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) said all its drivers had been notified that they will operate normally on Thursday.
“We are on an economic recovery path and cannot afford to miss a day of operation,” Santaco said in a statement.
Golden Arrow Bus spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer said their operations would also run on Thursday.
Cosatu and its affiliates will embark on strike action against the state of the economy, load shedding, poor governance and the poor living standards of workers.
The strike will occur under Section 77 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA), and the no work, no pay rule will apply.
Cosatu in a statement said:”This is also a signal to the government, the Reserve Bank, and the commercial banks that the working class can no longer afford to bear the burden of rising levels of inflation, electricity tariff hikes, and relentless and reckless increases in the repo rate.”
South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said Cosatu approached them to join the shutdown but Saftu decided not to take part.
“Saftu will not join the strike not only because of the short notice or because [we are] not combat ready, nor because we have no finances to support a strike, but because [we] believe that Cosatu is not genuine about unity,” said Vavi.
Cosatu in the Western Cape said they expected thousands of people to show up and join in raising their concerns.
Cosatu’s Western Cape secretary, Malvern de Bruyn, said they are taking to the streets because the government was not doing enough to fight crime in areas such as Khayelitsha, Manenberg, Gugulethu, Langa and Elsies River.
“We will be handing over a memorandum outlining our disappointment in the high crime levels, corruption, job losses, unemployment, interest rates and tariffs.
“Workers must come out in their numbers so we can express our disappointment in this government,” said De Bruyn.
“We want the provincial and national governments to hear us loud and clear on these matters and regard this strike as just a first warning of more mass action to follow, should our demands not be heeded.”
Western Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie said police were aware of the planned march and had activated contingency plans to ensure “the safety of all”.
Source: news24
In other news- A third earthquake in as many weeks has rocked Johannesburg
The SA National Seismograph Network (SANSN), which monitors earthquake activities occurring within South Africa and in the southern Africa region, says an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 2.2 was recorded in the south of Johannesburg on Wednesday night, just before 23:00.
According to the Council for Geoscience (CGS), the earthquake’s epicentre was located near Harmony Doornkop Gold Mine in Vlakfontein, Soweto. Read more
