News

According to news reports, police tried to disperse striking workers gathered on top of a hill, wielding knives and chanting war songs. The incident ended in a three minute shootout between the two groups, after police fired tear-gas and used water cannon to disperse the strikers.

UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said, "We extend our condolences to the families and friends of all those who have lost their lives in this latest violence. We stand with our affiliate COSATU in asking workers to keep their discipline and unity in the face of what is a clear attempt to divide and weaken them. There are echoes of Sharpeville here. We had hoped that those days were gone. A full investigation into what happened at Lomin needs to take place right now."

A special meeting of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Congress of South African Trade Unions was today given a briefing by its affiliates NUM and SATAWU on serious developments within the trade union movement. The CEC pledged its full support to the National Union of Mineworkers’ efforts to resolve this situation. The CEC also strongly condemned the breakaway ‘union’, NATAWU, led by the former President of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) Ephraim Mphahlele.

In particular the CEC condemned its use of violence and intimidation, and the illegal use of the COSATU logo. COSATU confirmed that SATAWU is its only affiliate in the transport, security and service sectors. The federation has no connection at all with NATAWU and urged all workers in the workplaces organised by SATAWU to remain loyal to their union.

The CEC agreed to convene an urgent meeting of the unions’ leaders to discuss what is emerging as a co-ordinated political strategy to use intimidation and violence, manipulated by disgruntled former union leaders, in a concerted drive to create breakaway ‘unions’ and divide and weaken the trade union movement.

COSATU called upon all workers to remain vigilant but calm in the face of the most serious challenge to workers’ unite and strength for many years.