Second meeting to discuss COSATU notice of possible protest action regarding the privatisation and planned privatisation of municipal services

Tuesday,  8 September 1998

A second meeting was held at Nedlac today to consider the notice served by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) regarding possible protest action against the privatisation and proposed privatisation of municipal services, including the provision of water. This notice has been served by the union in terms of s77(1)(b) of the Labour Relations Act, which gives workers the right to embark on protest action to promote and protest their social and economic interests provided that certain procedures are followed.

The meeting, which included the Directors-General of Constitutional Development and Water Affairs, representatives of SALGA, Deputy-General Secretary of Cosatu, Zwelinzima Vavi, and members of the Nedlac management committee, was the second meeting called in terms of Section 77(1)(c) of the LRA, which requires Nedlac to consider the notice with a view to resolving the matter through a process of facilitation. The first meeting was held on Friday 28 August, at which it was decided to take discussions further at the meeting today, subsequent to a working group meeting on the 1^st September.

At the end of exhaustive discussions today, the parties were unable to reach agreement on any of the demands tabled by Cosatu. These demands covered issues of privatisation, public service delivery and partnerships; public services that have already been privatised, as well as private services that are planned to be privatised; government co-ordination of national legislation and policy; existing collective bargaining agreements and local government funding. The parties agreed that the matter had been properly considered by Nedlac, which is one of the requirements of Section 77.(1) (c). According to the Nedlac procedure, parties can now decide which steps they wish to take. Section 77 (1) (d) of the LRA makes provision for the tabling of a further notice of intended protest action at Nedlac, at least 14 days before the commencement of protest action.