Bleak Christmas ahead, says Vavi
Zwelinzima Vavi says SA will experience the worst festive season ever as the jobs crisis deepens, and the economy weakens.
|||Johannesburg - Former Cosatu general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi says South Africans will experience the worst festive season ever this year as the jobs crisis deepens, while the economy continues to weaken.
Vavi joined a group of Cosatu rebel unions and its affiliates's splinters to brief the media about their concerns with the state of the country's economy and democracy.
The group also criticised Cosatu’s recently held congress, which it said were “rigged shambles”.
Vavi was joined by others in warning during the briefing in Johannesburg on Thursday that the country was in for hard times.
“It’s going to be the worst festive season South Africa has ever seen. And the question we are asking, when will enough be enough for all of us? When are we going to stand up and say, but you cannot continue to destroy what was worked for so hard by our forebears,” Vavi said.
He called on citizens to be more proactive when dealing with injustices committed in an attempt to “steal democracy from SA”.
The group said the union movement had been weakened by plotters whose agenda was to attack certain organisations including unions and chapter 9 institutions.
The unions which included the National Union of Metalworkers of SA, the Food and Allied Workers Union and the SA Public Service Union said there was an urgent need to convene a workers summit in order to get the process of rebuilding the workers movement underway.
The group also berated President Jacob Zuma’s decision to dismiss former Finance Minister, Nhlanhla Nene.
Vavi said although Nene was their political opponent, they knew he was a man who did everything because he believed it was in the best interest of the country.
Labour Bureau
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