By Tauhierah Salie

Western Cape residents are encouraged to prepare for a legal, mass strike by COSATU on Thursday morning. Thousands of members are expected to take to the streets to demand government urgently tackle high crime and fuel prices in the province.

Provincial spokesperson, Malvern de Bruyn, said its ‘all systems go’ and that support has been received from at least fifteen unions. Hundreds of marshals have been appointed to secure the demonstration remains peaceful.

De Bruyn noted that while the union got the go-ahead from Nedlac, the extent of support may see members opting to stay home. According to de Bruyn, sister unions, such as SAFTU, as well as taxi associations, such as CODETA,  have expressed support for their cause but are yet to confirm in what capacity. He also stated that a different protest is likely to address the issues of high electricity and water tariffs, raised at a meeting with safety and civil structures.

“We had a successful shop stewards council where more than 400 shop stewards representing close to 200 000 workers attended on Saturday. It’s all systems go- workers are ready. We expect huge numbers of people to come to (Cape) Town, but we also have a scenario where people would rather stay at home because the strike is protected.”

“Shop stewards raised the issue of electricity and high tariffs , but we advised that the strike would only be on two issues: crime rate and high petrol prices. It doesn’t mean workers cant do their own poster. If there is a worker that feels he or she wants to talk about anything different not linked to the strike, we cant stop them. You know our people; they can improvise on posters,” he told VOC.

A ten-point list of demands will be handed to all levels of government, including Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, Premier Alan Winde and Police minister Bheki Cele.

Members are expected to depart from Hanover street at 9.30 am and head to the City of Cape Town offices on Hertzog Boulevard along Tennant street. Thereafter to the Provincial Parliament via Darling Street, and finally to National Parliament up Plein street.

Read more here: https://www.vocfm.co.za/our-aim-is-to-teach-government-a-lesson-cosatu-calls-for-shutdown-support/

Among their main concerns is a lack of constructive engagement with the boots on the ground, where politics is allegedly hampering effective policing and progress toward creating a safe environment for citizens.

According to de Bruyn, the union has documented accounts wherein officials have failed to attend engagements. He said that close to nine, crucial meetings were held which “they have missed without any apology”.

“I can recall in 2018, we also had a march to the Premiers office. The premier and I had a side-talk where he made commitments to ‘talk in future’ so we can see how we can work together to find common ground to fix the issues affecting workers in the province. And, up until today, almost three years later, they’re never available.”

“It’s quite clear they don’t want successful prevention of crime. For them they want failure in the Western Cape so that they can argue [because] they want to take over the police. We can’t keep our hands folded while they’re playing politics with the lives of the people of the Western Cape.

On Tuesday, Premier Winde criticized the strike and labelled it ‘counter-productive’. He warned that it would further disrupt an already fragile economy.

“It is safe to say all law-abiding Western Cape residents, including the government, are fed up with high crime rates and are tired of living in fear. But staging a protest and strike to draw attention to this issue is not the way to go. This demonstration comes at a time when we need to buckle down to jumpstart the economy and create jobs after the Covid-19 State of Disaster. This action, however, is counter-productive as it will likely prevent hard-working citizens from getting to work on the day and will most certainly scupper the earnings of those taking part,” lamented the Premier.

According to Winde, a collective approach is the best option, given that the provincial Safety Plan is already actively addressing gang violence and gender-based violence, and the devolution of local police is of top priority:

“Our Safety Plan is based on a scientific approach to addressing crime, while our Law Enforcement Advancement Plan #LEAP is a “force multiplier” on the ground, helping other law enforcement agencies – especially the South African Police Service, which has all the government money to fight crime, to keep our communities safe.”

He added that Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC, Reagen Allen, had been visiting police stations to monitor their resources, over the past several weeks. Winde said several interventions are in progress.

“The WCG is going all-out to push for the devolution of the police service. We have the political will and constitutional basis on our side to do this. I am sure Cosatu shares our goal of seeking real solutions to crime and should then join us in this call. Violent crime has for too long plagued our communities and by decentralizing policing, the WCG and its law enforcement partners will plough new expertise and energy into tackling high crime rates at a more local level, to improve safety for residents.”

De Bruyn however reiterated that several attempted collaborations have fallen flat.

“We can put it on record that Cosatu, on more than one occasion, invited the Premier to meet, to discuss issues that affects the working class and the people of the Western Cape, the poorest of the poor. Up until today, they have failed to meet with COSATU. It’s quite hypocritical of the DA before the march on Thursday, to come out with a statement,” said de Bruyn.

Government will be given 14 days to respond to demands.