Strikers remain volatile

LEPHALALE - Violent protest action was possibly averted in Lephalale this week when construction companies withdrew an ultimatum which called for striking Medupi workers to sign a peace agreement and return to work on Wednesday or face dismissal.
Northern News spoke to Numsa’s sector coordinator for Medupi, Stephen Nhlapo, who was on his way to meet with Public Enterprises minister, Malusi Gigaba, regarding the Medupi strike in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Nhlapo confirmed that Numsa received a letter on Tuesday stating that the ultimatum was withdrawn. “This was not a peace agreement to start with and we were ready to go to court on this. Peace should be agreed on by both parties, but the contractors came to the table with a loaded gun when they issued such an ultimatum. How can we sign an agreement that our workers will return to work only to face disciplinary action and possible dismissal? That is not peace at all,” he said.
Fears of another Marikana situation were voiced in the media on Tuesday, calling for the government to intervene in Lephalale. Nhlapo agrees that the situation is volatile, but denies that Numsa was responsible for violent protest action in Marapong last week. “Unions have the right to gather at a picket area at Medupi, but we were denied access. Numsa members were also asked to leave the area next to the Mogol Club were we have been gathering, this forced our members to gather in Marapong were it was the community who became angry. Less than 10 of the 45 people arrested in Marapong last Thursday are Numsa members, the rest are members of the community who are frustrated with the current lock-out at Medupi.”
Nhlapo accused the police of instigating violence by shooting at the crowd without first speaking to leaders in the group. “When the police shot at members of the community, they became very angry and that was when property was damaged.” He also added that strikers were harassed by police while gathering at the Mogol club. “In an already volatile situation police would drive by, swear at us and throw our members with water, have they learnt nothing from Marikana?”
Police spokesperson in Lephalale, W.O. Frans Mokoena denies the allegations, “The police were called to Marapong when streets were blocked with burning tires. It was only when strikers started throwing stones at police and damaging property that the police shot at them with rubber bullets. We have a specialised unit who deal with public unrest and strike action; they are trained to deal with this kind of situation and will not provoke strikers.”
Nhlapo also said that the initial issue surrounding Christmas bonuses were not resolved as an agreement could not be reached regarding the formula used to estimate payouts.
“The bonuses and the loss of income the past six weeks is a minor issue in comparison with negotiations surrounding the project labour agreement (PLA). This agreement is out of date and no longer relevant for our workers. Numsa workers will only return to work if employers agree that the PLA should be renegotiated,” he added.
Numsa is also calling for better living conditions for workers. “Eskom is renting containers for two people for R15 000 a month, when they could be building simple two bedroom houses for Eskom employees. These houses could then be handed over to government as part of their RDP-programme in Lephalale when Medupi is built. It will certainly cost them less and contribute to the development of Lephalale.”
According to Nhlapo an agreement was almost reached four weeks ago, but parties failed to see eye to eye on some final issues.
“Yes, our workers are losing income, but it will be worth it if we can negotiate a better PLA agreement and better working conditions for them,” Nhlapo added.
Murray & Robberts spokesperson, Ed Jardim, and Alstom spokesperson, Kobie Hyman, could not be reached on Wednesday to confirm the withdrawal of the ultimatum.
- LiN News/Northern News