Giwusa president Mametlwe Sebei said members will meet at Burgers Park in Pretoria on Tuesday morning to deliver memorandums “from department to department”.
A night vigil will be held and some workers will sleep over at the park.
On Wednesday morning, at about 6am, members will be joined by other trade unions and they will march to the Union Buildings at 10am.
Asked what they want to achieve with the protest, Sebei said it has already been successful as they wanted to “force a conversation” about rising costs.
“Two-hundred children dying of malnutrition; Sunday Times broke the news that in the first two-month of this year 199 children under the age of five died of malnutrition [these are the reported numbers], 12.4-million people are unemployed and 75% of workers earn just R5,300 where the average cost of a household food basket is R4,748.87 [according to statistics from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group's July 2022 Household Affordability Index].
“What this means is that 75% of workers are probably eating below their average nutritional needs and this is devastating.”
Many people feeling the pressure think they are battling alone.
“But it's a system, this crisis. It's a structural crisis when it feels like an individual crisis. The consequences of this crisis are gender-based violence, xenophobia and crime — the working class is paying with their blood, it's a crisis of the system.
“This is a government committed to corporate profiteering. Rates are killing the working and the middle classes.”
More protests would follow Wednesday's shutdown.
Here is a list of places of assembly, possible routes affected and destinations of the planned marches:
#NationalShutdown — These are the routes to avoid
A list of the routes affected on August 24
Reporter
Image: Sharon Seretlo
Gauteng's “national shutdown” will begin on Tuesday and end on Wednesday — the day of the nationwide protest.
The shutdown is a planned downing of tools by the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and the General Industries Workers' Union of SA (Giwusa).
The unions are protesting against the rising cost of living, fuel costs and load-shedding.
Giwusa president Mametlwe Sebei said members will meet at Burgers Park in Pretoria on Tuesday morning to deliver memorandums “from department to department”.
A night vigil will be held and some workers will sleep over at the park.
On Wednesday morning, at about 6am, members will be joined by other trade unions and they will march to the Union Buildings at 10am.
Asked what they want to achieve with the protest, Sebei said it has already been successful as they wanted to “force a conversation” about rising costs.
“Two-hundred children dying of malnutrition; Sunday Times broke the news that in the first two-month of this year 199 children under the age of five died of malnutrition [these are the reported numbers], 12.4-million people are unemployed and 75% of workers earn just R5,300 where the average cost of a household food basket is R4,748.87 [according to statistics from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group's July 2022 Household Affordability Index].
“What this means is that 75% of workers are probably eating below their average nutritional needs and this is devastating.”
Many people feeling the pressure think they are battling alone.
“But it's a system, this crisis. It's a structural crisis when it feels like an individual crisis. The consequences of this crisis are gender-based violence, xenophobia and crime — the working class is paying with their blood, it's a crisis of the system.
“This is a government committed to corporate profiteering. Rates are killing the working and the middle classes.”
More protests would follow Wednesday's shutdown.
Here is a list of places of assembly, possible routes affected and destinations of the planned marches:
Limpopo
Image: Google Maps
Mpumalanga
Image: Google Maps
Gauteng
Image: Google maps
Free State
Image: Google Maps
Eastern Cape
Image: Google Maps
Western Cape
Image: Google Maps
In KwaZulu-Natal
Unions are calling on workers to observe the call for a stayaway, general strike and national shutdown as there is no planned activity in the province.
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