LETTER The numbers

SIR – The Congress of South African Trade Unions thanks all those workers who braved the scorching sun and marched to the Premier’s Office to deliver a memorandum of demands against corruption, state capture and job losses.

The Provincial Executive Committee is humbled and encouraged by the good turnout and the work done by the affiliates in mobilising the workers.

We, however, note the distortions made by the DFA where the turnout was reduced to the lowest of 300 members. We wish to refute that and condemn this negative reporting with the contempt it deserves. This is the reason why the Northern Cape deserves an alternative newspaper for balanced reporting.

It is worth reporting that Nehawu, NUM, Sadtu, Popcru and Denosa alone had a total of close to 1 200 workers in attendance. There were also other affiliates that did not record the attendance of their members. We also note the overwhelming support that we got from five branches of the ANC in the SolPlaatje sub-region as well as the branches of the SACP.

We call on all the workers to remain united and vigilant against all forms of counter revolutionary attacks, including the attempts that were made by employers to intimidate. Let us not be distracted by such non-issues and focus on the bigger battles ahead.

We also thank the workers across the Province who embarked on picketings in the different locals because they could not join the Provincial March. Their actions did not go unattended and if we can add their numbers we can safely say we had more than 4 000 workers who participated in the strike in the Northern Cape.

We wish to report to the workers that the premier of the Northern Cape has already set a process in motion to respond to our demands immediately after the march, a gesture which we welcome and appreciate.

Finally, we want to congratulate the ANC on the victory they registered in the bi-elections in ward 4 in the Dawid Kruiper Municipality. That victory is a clear indication that the people of the Northern Cape still have full confidence in the ANC and our leaders dare not take that for granted.