NEDLAC AGREES ON PROCESS TO ADDRESS COSATU SECTION 77
NOTICE
At a third meeting held at Nedlac today to consider the notice
of possible protest action tabled by the Congress of South African
Trade Unions regarding job losses, it was agreed that three working
groups would be formed to consider the issues raised by Cosatu.
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.
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
- The Insolvency laws
- Interest rates
- The restructuring of government owned enterprises
- The reduction of import tariffs
The meeting agreed to cluster these issues and others raised in
the notice tabled by Cosatu to be considered by the three working
groups. The Nedlac secretariat will co-ordinate and manage the
working groups so that they are able to engage in substantive
deliberations and report back to the Management Committee at its
meeting on 22 November.