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The Congress of South African Trade unions in the North West has learned with disappointment that some employers in the province who are members of NEASA are locking out workers who want to return to work as per the signed wage agreement in the engineering and metals sector.

COSATU has learned that companies in Madibeng, including SOS and Megaroller, have locked the workers out and are using their Security Company to assault the workers. It is reported that also in Rustenburg three companies that have locked workers out.
We are highly disappointed with the conduct of the security companies that continue to shoot workers during protected strikes. The same security company shot workers at Rebone furniture in 2013, shot again in Hernic Ferrochrome, shot workers in the mining area during their wage strike and now has shot workers again, and no arrest have been made.

We are told that the owner of the security company is a former police officer who is using his relationship with the Brits police and has never arrested. We can confirm that many cases are reported to the police and nothing is happening.

We call on the provincial commissioner to demand a full detailed report about this security company in Brits and investigate what has happened to cases that were reported against this man.
The same police in the NW are not prepared to arrest the 24/7 security company that has a history of shooting workers with live ammunitions. As we speak today one of our members of SATAWU at Sun City went for a second operation to remove the bullet after he was shot by the security during the workers’ strike at Sun City, and the management of Sun City and the racist security 24/7 are celebrating.

We call on the police in the NW to respond to this attitude and tell the public, in particular the family members, why there is no arrest. We have gone to the police station to open up cases with the victims, but until today there has been no action. Even the worker who was shot critically with live ammunition has not been visited by any of the police or management.

COSATU calls on all these employers to respect the agreement which was entered into at the bargaining council and allow the workers to go back to work. If they are not satisfied with the agreement they should follow the law.
COSATU will embark on a program of action to support the workers who are locked out and make sure that the employers allow them to go back to work.

On another matter COSATU is worried about the conduct of Cashbuild stores which continue to dismiss workers all over the province with only one charge of theft. All the dismissed workers are junior staff members who do not have the authority over the stocks, and none of the white senior managers, the ones who do have the authority on the stocks, have been dismissed.
COSATU believes that this is one way of undermining the gains that the workers have made since the democratic breakthrough of our country.

COSATU calls on Cashbuild to reinstate all the workers and if they have committed any misconduct, proper labour law procedures must be followed.

We want assure Cashbuild’s white managers that their threats will not stop COSATU NW from fighting for the workers. We are preparing our members and the communities and our government to mobilize a strong boycott of their stores, in particular in Mafikeng and Rustenburg.

COSATU will also be embarking on a recruitment campaign at all the Choppies stores in the province, in line with the agreement in the meeting which was held last week in Botswana that workers have the right to join the union of their choice and we call all workers to join unions that have a history of trade unions not just any union.

It is clear that employers have declared a war on poor workers and we are ready to fight for banning the labour brokers and fighting for better wages for our members. We will meet those employers on the street.
- See more at: http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=9246#sthash.QREdXp7S.dpuf