Johannesburg - Cosatu would step up its protest
campaign against the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan
Council (GJMC) over the implementation of the
controversial iGoli 2002 restructuring and privatisation
plan for the city, the union federation warned yesterday.
The campaign has so far involved marches, occupations
of council offices and the trashing of central Johannesburg
by members of the South African Municipal and
Allied Workers` Union (Samwu), an affiliate of Cosatu.
``I don`t see how we can avoid a full clash with the
council,`` said Zwelinzima Vavi, the general secretary of
Cosatu. ``Cosatu would take drastic action to bring them
to their senses.``
Although the council had agreed to reopen talks on
iGoli 2002 with unions after a series of unilateral implementations,
Ketso Gordhan, the GJMC chief executive,
reiterated that the privatised entities - the Johannesburg
stadium and zoo, Rand Airport, the fresh produce market,
the Civic Theatre and the bus company - were not negotiable.
Cosatu wondered whether the bonuses promised to
councillors in November were behind their ``dogged
determination`` to implement the transformation plan.
Vavi said the fight against iGoli 2002 was a national
issue because it was about choosing the model of local
government transformation.
Vavi directed his anger specifically at Gordhan,
Kenny Fihla and Makgane Thobejane, the trio leading
the transformation process, accusing them of double
standards.
``The gap between us is very close and they have
agreed on a moratorium,`` Vavi said.
``But suddenly these councillors emerge, play another
card of unilateralism and say horrible things in public,
like iGoli 2002 is going ahead whether trade unions are
on board or not.``
The almost 12month dispute between the council and
Samwu and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade
Union, an affiliate of the Federation of Unions of South
Africa, was temporarily shelved this week when the
parties agreed to negotiate service delivery options in
terms of the Municipal Systems Bill.
Accordingly, the unions agreed to suspend their
planned strikes as long as the parties were in
negotiations.