Cabinet condemns CT rampage

2006-05-17 19:25

Cape Town - The cabinet has urged striking security guards and their employers to resolve their differences and end violent protests.

Briefing the media after the cabinet meeting at parliament on Wednesday, communications head Joel Netshitenzhe said the cabinet once more condemned in the strongest terms the acts of violence and vandalism by some demonstrators.

"These actions are not only inimical to the interests of the workers, but also undermine the freedoms enshrined in our constitution," he said.

The government welcomed the firm action taken by law enforcement agencies to deal with the violence and urged them to ensure that those responsible for the violence and vandalism were brought to book. b> CCMA is dealing with strike "We cannot allow a situation, however genuine the grievances might be, in which people break the law, destroy property, threatening...

"But,we also need to make the point that the mechanism has been put in place for the employers and the union to negotiate this issue.

"The CCMA is dealing with it and we hope that, by Friday, the matters on the table will have been resolved," he said.

Violence was not in the interests of the workers themselves, because it undermined sympathy people might have with their demands.

Netshitenzhe said the cabinet also had noted the plans for a national strike on Thursday around the issues of unemployment and poverty.

'No work, no pay'

As was common knowledge, the government was working with all social partners to implement the accelerated shared growth initiative strategy, AsgiSA.

"It is the government's firm view that such strike action is not only unwarranted, but also counter-productive.

"With the government, the standard principle of 'no work, no pay' will apply," said Netshitenzhe.

- SAPA