21 August, 2018When workers went on strike to demand permanent jobs and better working conditions at ITB Plastics the company called in the South African Police Service who arrested 20 workers. Instead of listening to workers grievances, the company chose intimidation.
The arrested workers who were neither aggressive nor violent were only released when the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union, sent lawyers to represent them. Further, the Labour Court in Durban rejected, on 16 August, ITB Plastics’ application for an interdict to stop the strike. So, the strike continues.
The right to strike is a constitutional right. Therefore, NUMSA is shocked that ITB Plastics and Isithebe Consulting Solutions (ICS) — the labour broking company which is contracted by ITB —are denying workers their rights. Most of the workers at ITB Plastics are employed by the broker. The Constitutional Court recently ruled that labour brokers cannot employ a worker for more than three months on a temporary contract. If they did that, the worker became a permanent employee.
However, some employers use labour brokers as a form of cheap labour to avoid paying benefits to workers. Following the Constitutional Court victory workers who have been employed for more than three months at ITB Plastics took the matter to the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration to be confirmed permanent employees.
Further, by installing cameras in toilets, the union says the company is also violating workers’ right to privacy using the excuse of preventing theft. Says NUMSA: “ITB Plastics is violating the dignity of our members daily. They have installed cameras in the bathrooms. It is shameful that they have not been censured for this.”
NUMSA is determined to fight the company and salutes its members for “their courage and determination despite attempts to exploit and violate their rights.”
Says Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa.
“It is shameful for companies like ITB Plastics to continue with their bullying tactics instead of giving permanent jobs and improving working conditions. Intimidation should be resisted, and NUMSA is reminding them to be a responsible employer.”