SAMANCOR Retrenched Workers Picket

Monday 1 December 2003 by APF

SAMANCOR Retrenched Workers’ Crisis Committee (SRWCC) to picket in Johannesburg on Monday (15th Dec.) from 12h00 to 14h00 at SAMANCOR Head Office, Provincial Labour Dept. and Provincial Environmental Affairs Dept. Over 100 retrenched (steel manufacturer) Samancor workers who are organised under the umbrella of the Anti-Privatisation Forum will be staging simultaneous pickets on Monday (15th Dec.) at Samancor Head Office (Marshall Street, JHB) as well as the Provincial Departments of Labour (Rissik & Fox Streets, JHB) and Environmental Affairs (Court Street, Braamfontein) in Johannesburg.

SAMANCOR Retrenched Workers’ Crisis Committee (SRWCC) to picket in Johannesburg on Monday (15th Dec.) from 12h00 - 14h00 at SAMANCOR Head Office, Provincial Labour Dept. and Provincial Environmental Affairs Dept.

Over 100 retrenched (steel manufacturer) Samancor workers who are organised under the umbrella of the Anti-Privatisation Forum will be staging simultaneous pickets on Monday (15th Dec.) at Samancor Head Office (Marshall Street, JHB) as well as the Provincial Departments of Labour (Rissik & Fox Streets, JHB) and Environmental Affairs (Court Street, Braamfontein) in Johannesburg. After decades of service, the company has rewarded these workers’ with:

Poisonous & inhuman working conditions

Lethal respiratory illnesses

Forced retrenchments

Miserable compensation

Forgotten medical aid

Lost insurance on housing loans

The communities in the vicinity of SAMANCOR continue to suffer from the labour practices and horrendous environmental pollution of SAMANCOR, while the management of SAMANCOR makes huge salaries and profits. Despite repeated requests by the SRWCC to intervene to enforce labour and environmental rights, the relevant provincial departments have remained silent. The SRWCC, alongside community members, are demanding that:

Samancor release the results of all medical examinations

Samancor cover all health expenses of retrenched and employed workers

Samancor provide decent workers’ compensation for retrenched workers

Samancor compensate the families of deceased workers

Samancor disburse housing loan subsidies

Samancor cease subcontracting and the payment of substandard wages

The Provincial Department of Labour conduct an immediate inspection of working conditions at Samancor

The Provincial Department of Environmental Affairs conduct an immediate environmental impact assessment of the Samancor factory and surrounding communities

HUMAN LIFE BEFORE PROFITS MOBILISE, UNITE AND FIGHT!

For further information contact the SRWCC on: 083 342-8144; 083 472-2004; 072 175-8948.