TGWU 5th National Congress - Unite and fight for jobs and a living wage!
- Authors: COSATU, TGWU
- Date: July 1996
- Subjects: COSATU, TGWU
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115446 , vital:34130
- Description: TGWU is gearing up to influence and shape future transport policy with our Transport for the People policy document. A fresh perspective and preparedness to actively assert our vision for transport emerged at our 5th National Congress held in May at the Holiday Inn Garden Court in Johannesburg. More than 700 delegates representing 60 000 members countrywide gave concrete expression to our congress theme by adopting a call for a 24-hour general strike on 2 July in support of our demands around public transport policy. The call to action is a demonstration of our rejection of the Minister of Transport's intention to restructure the public transport industry (buses and Rail) through privatisation, thereby placing the future employment of workers under direct threat.
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- Date Issued: July 1996
Is holding hands with bosses the way forward for the workers
- Authors: COSATU, TGWU
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: COSATU, TGWU
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/178623 , vital:42962
- Description: The COSATU leadership is asking all its affiliates to discuss a way forward for South African workers. The COSATU National Office Bearers have produced a document titled "COSATU 1993 Discussion Paper on a Way Forward". It deals with the "Reconstruction Accord". This Accord is a plan for organised labour during this period of transition in South Africa. Since this plan is laying the foundations for a future South Africa, the COSATU document is therefore a plan for the future of the working class. In this short paper we are going to answer the most important questions concerning this COSATU document: Is this the way forward for the workers? Is this plan going to free the workers from the chains of poverty and suffering? Is this plan going to lay the foundations for workers control of the economy, of politics and of the country? Is this plan going to stop retrenchments and starvation wages? In other words, we are going to study the COSATU leadership 's proposals from the point of view of the needs of the workers.
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- Date Issued: 1993
Cde Alfred freed
- Authors: COSATU, TGWU
- Date: Feb 1991
- Subjects: COSATU, TGWU
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115525 , vital:34152
- Description: Last year TGWU signed the first recognition agreement in South Africa for African seaman with Unicorn Line. In the past T&G signed agreements with shipping companies but these agreements covered shore workers and not workers at sea. Unicorn Line is a big national shipping company in the Grinrod Group of companies with 11 ships carrying cargo up and down the coast. Seamen work under dangerous and bad conditions with low pay. Seamen are out at sea for long periods away from their homes and families. Unicorn Line contracts out seamen to do work for a British company called Cu- nard. Cunard pay Unicorn Rl,729 a month for the seaman and Unicorn only pay the seamen R675 a month! It is also unjust because shore- based Unicorn workers earn R879 a month. Now we are negotiating wages for the first time for these seamen. The bosses gave the union a 20% increase on the minimum wage of R675. The union is also demanding a 25% increase for all workers, and the bosses are offering between 15% and 17% The bosses say that workers do not need a higher wage because they can do a lot of overtime and earn good wages! Seaman often have to work 176 hours overtime a month!
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- Date Issued: Feb 1991
Biggest strike in T&G history
- Authors: COSATU, TGWU
- Date: July 1990
- Subjects: COSATU
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115514 , vital:34151
- Description: Cleaners in T&G Natal are angry and want to see change now! So cleaners from 11 different companies came together and decided to make demands to the bosses. On 25 May about 3000 cleaners came out on strike, but by the middle of the strike about 7000 cleaners were on strike. Most of the strikers were women. The most important demand was for a living wage. In the Durban area the wage determination gives cleaners R379 a month. But many bosses pay less than R379 and these bosses know it is against the law. On top of the low wage the bosses make cleaners buy their own uniforms, but the wage determination says the bosses must buy these uniforms. All of the strikers come from contract cleaning companies like Sneller, Supercare, Pritchards, Regent, Mrs Mop, Clean-It, Keep Clean, North Coast Cleaners, Floline, and Durban Property Services. These companies send cleaners out to clean in other companies and get money in return. But cleaners see little of the money their bosses make from their hard work.
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- Date Issued: July 1990
Congress takes strong resolutions
- Authors: COSATU, TGWU
- Date: Feb 1990
- Subjects: COSATU, TGWU
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115536 , vital:34153
- Description: T&G Congress is over for another 2 years. Now we have the task of acting on the important resolutions that Congress took. About 400 delegates came to the Congress at Pietermaritzburg University to take our union forward into the 1990s. Comrade Harry Gwala, a member of SACP and ANC, and comrade Pozo Zondo, an organiser from NOW (Natal Organisation of Women), came to speak to the Congress. Comrade Gwala pointed out that the working class in tiie factories and townships and rural areas will win the struggle. The working class must lead this struggle. Church people, sports people, peasants and intellectuals must also take their part. We must work towards socialism because without socialism there will still be many problems. Gwala said socialism is still alive. The marches in Eastern Europe in most countries are to make for a better and more democratic socialism. Comrade Gwala said that it is the duty of all union members to make a people’s democracy under the leadership of the working class. We can only enter negotiations with the government if the working class is in a very strong position.
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- Date Issued: Feb 1990
How Fidelity Guards live!
- Authors: COSATU, TGWU
- Date: Apr 1990
- Subjects: COSATU, TGWU
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115569 , vital:34178
- Description: UNTIL last month Fidelity Guards (FG) was owned by a very big transport company, the Rennies Group. FG workers live in an old mine hostel. This is how this rich company housed its workers. T&G NEWS went to the West Rand Fidelity Guards Hostel. 325 men workers live in this hostel. These workers come from many places like Transkei, Pietersburg, Qwa Qwa and Gazankulu. Their families cannot live with them in the hostel because there is no place for famines to stay. And women and children cannot come inside the hostel. No privacy The hostel was built early in the 1900s. It is dirty, old, broken down, smells bad, and everywhere flies buzz around. The hostel is far from shops and transport is difficult. There are no phones to speak to families and at Christmas often the FG office does not deliver telegrammes. In each room 16 workers live and sleep. Both day and night shift workers are in one room. This means there is always noise. For example, if a worker is off-duty he brings friends into the room to drink and talk. This wakes up other sleeping workers.
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- Date Issued: Apr 1990
New T&G Office Bearers
- Authors: COSATU, TGWU
- Date: Oct 1990
- Subjects: COSATU, TGWU
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115435 , vital:34129
- Description: People think taxi drivers earn a lot of money. But this is not true. Taxi owners earn the money and employ drivers to do the hard driving. These taxi owners pay the drivers low wages, and give drivers very bad work conditions. About a year ago T&G in the Vaal started organising taxi drivers. Then in August this year about 300 taxi drivers came out on T&G’s first ever taxi strike. The strike went on for 5 days. One of the most important demands in the strike was for a living wage of R250 a week. Drivers were getting between R150 a week and R120 every 2 weeks. And most taxi drivers are on duty 16 hours a day for 7 days a week! The biggest bosses’ taxi association in the Vaal is Region 8 ofSabta. Sabta started talking to the union and the union forced the taxi bosses to recognise the union. The bosses will now meet workers in an on-going Joint Committee. The Committee will talk about things like UIF, leave, hours of work, and one bosses’ association for the Vaal (there are over 7 at the moment). Drivers won a weekly minimum wage of R150 for driving a 15 seater taxi, and the bosses will now use the Passenger Transport Wage Determination around other conditions of work. The bosses agreed to a 6 day week and an end to the quota system. Under the quota system drivers had to bring in R200 a day or face lower wages or dismissal. Many drivers suffer from bad back pains, and when drivers have accidents the bosses do not pay for medical treatment. So the bosses agreed to pay for medical treatment and to look into a medical aid scheme for drivers. We salute the taxi drivers for their important victory! The taxi industry is an example of the state’s policy of deregulation. This deregulation means there is very little protection for taxiworkers. But the union is going to make sure that there is some protection for taxi drivers. This is the beginning of an organised taxi industry in South Africa!
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- Date Issued: Oct 1990
Wage increases for goods transport workers
- Authors: COSATU, TGWU
- Date: Dec 1989
- Subjects: COSATU, TGWU
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115546 , vital:34156
- Description: T&G has been sitting on the Goods Transport Industrial Council in the Transvaal for three years. T&G negotiates with the bosses’ organisation, the Motor Transport Owners Association (MTOA) once a year. About 500 goods transport companies belong to the MTOA and these bosses employ about 16 000 workers. T&G has about 6 000 goods transport members in the Transvaal. So it is important to negotiate a good deal for T&G workers but also for the many workers we have not organised at this point. There are many things that we negotiate around on the council. Here are some of the things we won this year: All goods transport workers who earn the council minimum wage will get a wage increase. Workers who earn below R118 a week will get a 19% increase and workers who earn above R118 will get a 16% increase. So for example, a general worker was getting R84.61 and will now get R100,64 a week. And a heavy duty driver was getting R130,18 and will now get R151. We also won a night out allowance increase. Drivers will get R20,40 a night and general workers R17,60. The sick benefit and holiday pay bonus now goes to all workers in the transport industry in Transvaal and not only to the drivers.
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- Date Issued: Dec 1989