The Congress of South African Trade Unions is deeply concerned at the bid by Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, to take over Massmart, and fully shares SACCAWU's view that Wal-Mart is one of the worst union-bashing employers in the world. As our affiliate says:

• Wal-Mart is a known anti-union company which trains its managers to keep the workplaces union-free.
• It took almost fifty years for workers to successfully get Wal-Mart recognise a union at one of their US outlets.
• It has closed down departments and stores in North America where workers have successfully unionised themselves.
• By July 2008 the company faced more than 80 lawsuits in connection with wages, overtime and hours violations, most of it class actions, with more than 10 000 workers affected in many of the cases.
• It currently faces the largest class action on discrimination of women with more than 1.5 million women workers being part of the action.
• It pays women less than men and women are less likely to be promoted than male workers.
• It has been in court for racial discrimination against African-Americans truck drivers and Muslim employees of West African origin.
• In the 2008 US Presidential elections it was exposed to have actively coerced their employees not to vote for Obama, because he will make it easy for unions to get into the workplace.
• It has been listed in Human Rights Watch reports for its aggressiveness of its anti-union activities.
• In the US wage levels at Wal-Mart has been found to be between 26% -37% lower than the national average.
• In 2008 it was fined 2 billion US dollars for more than two million wage related violations.
• Recently it was compelled to pay 34 million US dollars in unpaid back wages.
• Today in the US, it still represents the main opposition to a bi-partisan Free Choice Act that will allow workers to form and join unions easier.
• It conducts illegal surveillance on its employees to root out any attempts to unionisation.

COSATU is also worried about the impact that a Wal-Mart take-over would have on local distributors, suppliers and manufacturers. The company has become so powerful that it can dictate to their suppliers the price they prepared to pay for goods. This has led to many local suppliers, distributors and manufacturers collapsing, and led to the use of child labour and payment of poverty wages in countries such as Guatemala and Bangladesh.

If this deal goes through, it could be a severe set-back for our Proudly South African campaign to persuade retailers to procure products manufactured locally by firms which comply with minimum decent work standards. It could lead to further unemployment not only in wholesale and retail but also in manufacturing, which COSATU has identified as the key sector to develop if we are to rebuild our economy and create decent jobs.

The federation will support any move by SACCAWU to refer the take-over to the Competition Commission or the Ministers of Economic Development and Trade and Industry, to ensure that the objectives of South Africa's developmental agenda are not undermined.

COSATU and SACCAWU will fight against any erosion of hard-fought-for workers' rights and benefits. We will not tolerate the destruction of local procurement policies or the further decline of local manufacturing. We call on all South Africans to support a campaign against the Walmartisation of the retail sector.