Comrades, we have decided to undertake this unprecedented action of writing this communique because it has come to our attention that one of the reactionary federations is organising a protest action against the National Minimum Wage and the labour laws amendments using the name of Cosatu to lure our members to their action away from Cosatu activities of mobilising towards a successful May Day.

Unlike others, this reactionary federation has a modus operandi of using lies to win the support of workers .This federation is spreading lies and misleading information to lure workers to participate in their divisive reactionary activities by claiming that the protest action will be a joint action with Cosatu.

They know that without Cosatu their planned action will fail and they will be exposed that they have smaller members than they have been claiming! We want to tell workers that, we have no relationship with a federation called Saftu which was formed primarily to liquidate Cosatu and not to fight employers. Their central programme is not to unite but to divide and weaken the struggles of workers. We cannot associate with an unprincipled federation which sounds radical in it’s speak and yet in practice is fundamentally reactionary.

Cosatu will not work with a federation which operate based on lies and which declared openly that its mission was to liquidate Cosatu and not to fight against employers and capitalism.

Workers must prepare to attend and join May Day marches organised by Cosatu all over the country and that is where the federation will give a clear directive on the Living Wage Campaign which will be a mother of all campaigns Cosatu is currently busy mobilising towards the May Day activities and one of the things we will expose on the May Day is a lie being spread by this reactionary federation regarding the National Minimum Wage, the Labour Laws Amendments and many other lies and deceptive schemes they use.

Cosatu want to unite workers but not based on lies and misleading information. As comrade Amicar Cabral said “Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories” Defend Cosatu, Unite Workers, fight corruption and mobilise for a Living Wage Campaign

Issued by Cosatu