Friday, 13 April 2007

Recognition of Union Benefits, Support for CWU Grows



Today, as workers across South Africa wait in anticipation to hear the court verdict regarding the legality of last month's strike, there is growing fervor in support of a union.

Workers at Vodacom are becoming more and more insistent that they belong to CWU, South Africa's most progression union in the Information and Communication Technology industry. Workers have explicitly expressed their support for what CWU represents. This includes:
- Promotion of collective bargaining
- Protection of the inalienable right to freely associate
- Fair working hours and working conditions
- Better remuneration of workers
- Proper support to HIV/AIDS infected and affected people (including access to medication)

Thousands and thousands of workers are articulating that they want to be a CWU member because they want to:
- Become part of the attainment of better life for all
- Help bridge the Digital Divide
- Assist in the realisation of the enforcementof job security and job retention strategies
- Be protected against all forms of unfair and scrupulous labour practises.

Workers demand that their basic human rights be realised!

More to be posted after today's court ruling. Stay tuned!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is great to see the honourable pursuit of a principle and we would in all probability have supported it with great support.
It is however unfortunate that this Trade Union is somewhat inconsistent in their support of a principle. This very same union, although not suffciently represented in Vodacom, still pursuis this principle. While in other Companies they decline the right of other Unions to represent their constituencies if they are not sufficiently represented. Is this because the leaders are pursuing these principles not for the better of Union members, but rather in pursuit of their own interests??

The Spirit of NS said...

In response to your comment, Vodafone, Vodacom's parent, has accepted that they have been in fact paying money to managers to bash the union, and get paid a bonus to say that the union is "less than 10%".

Second, Vodafone, contradicting their under-underling Dot Field, has also admitted that the union represents at least 15% of the company's own, unaudited and seemingly made up 4100 employees.

I suspect that, when Vodacom finally presents any record of employment levels, we will find that in fact, the union represents more than 30%.

But you are right, the leaders of the union - the members - are in fact pursuing these principles in pursuit of their own interests. It is workers who have been on strike almost 5 weeks, not leaders.