NEDLAC HOLDS MEETING TO CONSIDER COSATU
NOTICE
A first meeting was held at Nedlac today toconsider 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) ofthe Labour
Relations Act, which gives workers the right to embark on protest
action topromote and protect their social and economic
interests, if they follow
certainprocedures. Nedlac is required to consider
the reasons giving rise to the notice.
The reasons tabled by Cosatu as motivation forthe intended
protest action include several elements of policy which Cosatu
believe relateto 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 onSection 77
notices, which was attended by senior representatives from
government,business, the South African Reserve Bank and Cosatu, it
was agreed that a further meetingwould be held on 31 August
1999.
"It is common cause between all the partiesthat the issue of job
losses raised by Cosatu is of national concern", commentedWendy
Dobson, Acting Executive Director of Nedlac.