NEDLAC HOLDS MEETING TO CONSIDER COSATU NOTICE

A first meeting was held at Nedlac today to consider the notice of possible protest action tabled by the Congress of South AfricanTrade Unions regarding job losses.

The protest action is directed at Government,Business and the Reserve Bank.

The notice was served in terms of s77(1)(b) of the Labour Relations Act, which gives workers the right to embark on protest action to promote and protect their social and economic interests, if they follow certain procedures. Nedlac is required to consider the reasons giving rise to the notice.

The reasons tabled by Cosatu as motivation for the intended protest action include several elements of policy which Cosatu believe relate to the increasing job losses, including:

• Employers' ability to retrench workers through Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act
• The insolvency laws
• Interest rates
• The restructuring of government owned enterprises
• The reduction of import tariffs

At a meeting of Nedlac's standing committee on Section 77 notices, which was attended by senior representatives from government,business, the South African Reserve Bank and Cosatu, it was agreed that a further meeting would be held on 31 August 1999.

"It is common cause between all the parties that the issue of job losses raised by Cosatu is of national concern", commented Wendy Dobson, Acting Executive Director of Nedlac.