Approximately 180 GIWUSA members at Sunbake, RCL Foods in Polokwane have embarked on an indefinite strike as of today (Monday, 21st November 2022). Workers at other depots of Sunbake will also go on strike – at Asizakhe, Bochum and Ellisrust.
Read Full StatementOn Saturday, Cyril Ramaphosa handed over the certificate of recognition of Misuzulu Ka Zwelithini, as the King of the Zulus, at the ceremony attended by 40 000 people at Moses Mabhida stadium. The ceremony was remarkable primarily for the extravaganza of the elite - local and foreign – engaged in childish pomp and celebration. But it cost of millions of taxpayer rands, standing in stark contrast to the horrendous conditions of life suffered by the great majority of Zulu working=class people, in whose name this new king is being coronated.
Read Full StatementThe General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) wish to state upfront that we don’t believe President Cyril Ramaphosa has presented a plan to resolve the electricity crisis. Instead, we find him leading a renewed campaign to privatise Eskom – especially renewable energy generation - in the interests of foreign corporations as well as a few local elites (including his brother-in-law, Patrice Motsepe).
Read Full StatementWe workers and trade unionists in the General Industrial Workers Union of SA, an affiliate of our struggle SAFTU, salute your general strike in defence of your living standards. We know that the veld fire of inflation is international but we also know tha t our ruling elites in corporations and state have insulated themselves against this fire. They have their own private power supply, make money from misery and can access all the foreign exchange they want to trade profitably while we suffer.
Read Full StatementFor two and a hald months now, Putin's regime has been at war with Ukraine. RIght from the start, tens of thousands of Russians have resisted and bravely spoken out against the war and regime, at serious risk of political persecution and arrest. During this time, more than 15,000 people have been detained, many facing police violence, torture, and lengthy imprisonment.
Read Full StatementHundreds of people – mostly black and working-class – are dead, and billions of rands damage was done this week, as a result of simple failures of climate adaptation in Durban and surrounding municipalities. As a union with nearly 10% of our members working hard in the country’s third-largest city, we are aggrieved and demand transformative change.
Read Full StatementThe General Industries Workers Union of SA (GIWUSA) has noted with extreme concern and outrage the simultaneous increases in the electricity tariffs and fuel prices. In the context of the fuel price hike happening today, along with growing mass unemployment, wage freezes and savage cuts in the conditions of work, these increases will raise energy poverty and the cost of living for the poor and working-class majority and for many middle class people, to new heights. On top of this, is Eskom’s propensity – starting in the winter of 2020 just as the pandemic was at its worst – to engage in a new kind of disconnection called “load reductions,” which is a racist form of collective punishment because by living in a black township, even if you have paid your bill, you may be cut because your neighbour hasn’t paid theirs.
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