COSATU SECTION 77 NOTICE

At a meeting held at Nedlac today to further consider the notice of possible protest action tabled by the Congress of South African Trade Unions regarding job losses, it was agreed that there had been progress on several of the issues raised by Cosatu, However, there were a number of issues which remained unresolved.

The issues on which there had been progress include the issue of interest rates, the holding of sector summits as agreed at the Presidential Jobs Summit and the implementation of customs and excise regulations.

The issues regarding on which Cosatu felt there had not been sufficient progress include amendment of section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, which deals with retrenchments, amendment of the Insolvency laws and halting the accelerated reduction of import tariffs.

Bilateral meetings will take place between government and Cosatu on these issues.

In relation to the National Framework Agreement, Cosatu is awaiting clarification on the status of the agreement.

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 notice with a view to resolving the matter through a process of facilitation.