Cosatu: workers forced to switch unions and join unprotected strikes

"We call on the employers to reinstate all those workers and call the unions to discuss the demands of workers," Cosatu provincial secretary Solly Phetoe said. He called on "workers who are on [an] unprotected strike to (...) suspend the strike to allow the negotiations to start", allowing the federation to negotiate a protected action which will not result in workers' dismissal.

Phetoe said the federation was concerned about the spate of attacks on the leaders of the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM) and their relatives. "This is clearly no longer about wages but a clear attack on the NUM, Cosatu and its members," he said. According to Phetoe, workers are being forced to join other unions that are not their choice and get involved in unprotected strikes.

"Cosatu supports the demands of the workers but we are not supporting illegal actions, and the continuation of killing each other," Phetoe told TimesLIVE. "We are not supporting intimidation during strikes or forcing workers to join unions that they have not chosen."

Read the full article on http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/10/08/cosatu-calls-for-amplats-to-reinstate-workers