Retrenchments, price hikes top marchers' list

Hundreds of members of union federation Cosatu marched to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in Sandton yesterday as part of its national day of action for World Day for Decent Work, to hand over a memorandum of demands.

- Marizka Coetzer

The demands included an urgent solution to the cost-of-living crisis.

Other demands were that the government and employers place a moratorium on retrenchments; that the department of employment and labour urgently make the temporary employment relief scheme less bureaucratic and more responsive to assisting workers and companies in distress and that more retrenchments were prevented.

A group of workers, who asked to remain anonymous, said they wanted workers to get better pay and benefits.

One said: "I recently had to undergo an operation. I have a medical benefit but had to pay before they would operate on me.

"Why am I paying every month when I can't use it when I need it? "Where do I get that money? I have to borrow and make more debt.