Workers ready to fight new tax law: Cosatu
Cosatu's mass mobilisation and strike against the Taxation Law Amendment Act will start this week.
This was announced during a press briefing by General Secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali on Thursday at Cosatu House in Johannesburg.
He said workers must be able to decide what they do with their retirement savings and no one else.
"The tactics to divide the workers and the misinformation campaign from the state has not worked. Workers are united on this issue and the federation is ready to lead them to battle," he said.
Ntshalintshali explained that during their Special Central Executive Committee meeting, it was reiterated that they reject this law and called for it to be scrapped.
"We want the whole process of social security and pension reform to be restarted at NEDLAC. Retirement savings belong to workers and they will decide what they want to do with them and no one else."
The meeting also rejected the myth that workers don't want to save and pointed out that they do not earn enough to save.
"Workers all around the country participate in stokvels and savings scheme every day, to try and save from their meagre wages and all they need are incentives not a patronizing law," Ntshalintshali said.
He warned that they will wage a serious battle to revive and defend NEDLAC's integrity.
"The NEDLAC Act has been abandoned by both parliament and cabinet and the parliamentarians must know they are the custodians of the NEDLAC Act."
Protest action and picketing starts on Friday outside NEDLAC offices at lunchtime.