The South African Council of Churches is profoundly concerned about the impact that the current industrial action in the public service sector is having on ordinary South Africans, particularly those living in poor and marginalised households.

The General Secretary of the Council has written to both Minister Fraser-Moleketi, the Minister of Public Service and Administration, and Mr. Zwelinzima Vavi, the Secretary General of COSATU. In his letter, the General Secretary, Mr. Eddie Makue, urged the government and trade unions to intensify their efforts to resolve the current impasse in the wage negotiations.

“The SACC and its members are concerned that a national crisis can result from the impasse if workers continue to feel that they have no choice but to resort to withholding their labour,” the General Secretary wrote. “While recognizing that this action is legitimate we remain concerned about its consequences.”

For the past several weeks, the SACC has been engaged in low-profile interventions in an effort to promote a resolution of the dispute and avoid industrial action. Representatives of the Eastern Cape Provincial Council of Churches met with trade unions in the Eastern Cape on 22 May. Following that meeting, the provincial Chairperson, Rev Mcebisi Xundu, arranged a 31 May meeting with Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi. The SACC was represented at that meeting by an ecumenical delegation led by its President, Prof. Russel Botman. The same delegation subsequently met with Western Cape trade union leaders on 1 June.

In all of its interventions, the Council has emphasized its concern about the effect of the disruption of public services on poor households. Following the Council’s meetings in the Western Cape, Prof. Botman noted that the SACC’s role was to amplify the “messages and cries that emerge from South Africa’s poorest and marginalised people and communities.”

The Council’s position, Botman said, “is never neutral and is always informed by a tradition of the Church that witnesses for social, political and economic justice.”

In its communications with COSATU, the SACC has also expressed grave concern about reports that some individuals are disrupting public services and intimidating workers who are not taking part in the industrial action.

“We know, through our partnerships with COSATU, that you are a disciplined movement,” the SACC General Secretary told Mr. Vavi. “We therefore appeal to you to ensure that this discipline is exercised in this very difficult situation in which you are immersed.”

For more information, contact: Mr. Eddie Makue, SACC General Secretary (082 853 8781)