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On Tuesday, the 6th of October, CEPPWAWU (the Chemical Energy Paper Printing Wood and Allied Workers Union) the 82 000 member strong Union, the South African Communist Party and COSATU will march in solidarity against former Barlow World Logistics Executive Director Mr. Isaac Shongwe at his offices in Bryanston for attempting to enrich himself with over a billion rand through exploiting the CEPPWAWU Investment Companies workers fund.

The SACP and COSATU will strike in solidarity to CEPPWAWU with the strike action being led by Sdumo Dlamini (COSATU President), Solly Mapaila (SACP Deputy General Secretary) and CEPPWAWU Leaders Thamasanqa Mhlongo (President), Luca Mashego (Deputy President), Simon Mofokeng (General Secretary) and Eunice Dlodlo (The 2nd Deputy President).

We as the Chemical Energy Paper Printing Wood and Allied Workers Union demand that Mr. Shongwe takes his hands off the workers fund and stops wasting millions of rands in litigation that are much needed by the workers of CEPPWAWU who have not benefited from recent dividends because of his personal agenda to loot and control the fund that the working poor need to make their lives better.

Mr. Shongwe who served as the sole active trustee in CEPPWAWU’s Development Trust and as a Director in CEPPWAWU’s Investment Company used his position at the time to manipulate an agreement that he is now claiming entitles his company Letsema Investment a stake of 27.5% (R1.2 Billion) in the CEPPWAWU workers fund. A fund whose dividends and earnings would enable workers to educate and sustain their families and loved onew.

Despite being in a clear conflict of interest, Shongwe continues to attempt to leech off the workers hard earned money which would serve as a much needed upliftment for poor workers and their children.

Aware of the fact that the CEPPWAWU Investment Company has a stake in companies such as Sasol, Nampak, Aspen and Barloworld Mr. Shongwe has sought to consolidate his control over the Investment fund by using tactics to divide the Union leadership and its members as well as giving an executive role to his Letsema Director Derek Thomas within the CEPPWAWU Investments Company as a way.

WE as CEPPWAWU say no to this and we demand that he exists and stops his attempts to destabilize the Union and to loot the workers fund.

As a supposed ‘model citizen’ aligned to initiatives such as the Aspen Global Leadership Network, Shongwe has shown his true character as an exploiter of the workers and an enemy of the Workers Revolution. His refusal to exit from the ongoing legal battle and the management of the fund exposes how little he cares for workers and just how far he would go to fill his pockets with poor workers money and to make the fund his personal purse.

CEPPWAWU also reiterates its firm support for COSATU’s Workers strike on the 7th of October 2015 and calls on all Workers to join this memorable strike action to bring a change to the working and living conditions of all workers and South Africans.

Issued by Ceppwawu