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Cynthia Seopa, an immigration official with Internal Affairs, said the government had taken food out of her children’s mouths.
Workers affiliated with different unions marched from Burgerspark to the Treasury in Pretoria on October 7, 2020. Image: Abigail Javier / EWN
PRETORIA – South Africa’s four main federations have managed to show that there is strength in numbers, taking to the streets of the country in the main cities to protest against many problems linked to our economic trajectory and gender violence and femicide.
In a historic national strike, members of Cosatu, Fedusa, Nactu and Saftu joined the action of Section 77 in their number despite the threat of COVID-19, and told the government that they were already fed up with corruption. and the inability to reactivate the economy and create jobs.
Many of the workers on the streets on Wednesday were civil servants who expressed distress over having to cope with their existing wages despite the rising cost of living, despite the state agreeing to raise their wages by as much as 5.4% this year, but then reneged on the deal.
GALLERY: Workers take to the streets in national strike
Cynthia Seopa, an immigration official with Internal Affairs, said the government had taken food out of her children’s mouths.
She told Eyewitness News that workers in her pay band were earning as little as R8,000, making it difficult to cope with rising transportation and food costs.
He had been eagerly awaiting the wage increase that the government agreed to with workers in 2018.
However, if the Treasury has its way, it may need to remain at the same salary level for the next three years, as there are no plans to increase salaries for public servants.
“We are tired, we want our money. We want decent work environments. “
However, not all workers heeded the call to stay away from work or join the protests.
A cleaning service employee in Pretoria, Sylvester Shabangu, said that while he wanted to join the protests, he could not afford to give up a day’s wage as the no work no pay rule applied.
“If I could join them, I’d be there right now.”
It is too early to say whether the national strike had any significant impact on the economy.
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