Cii News- 12 September 2012

Trade union federation, COSATU, has  openly criticized Julius Malema for his talks against the National Union of Mineworkers.

In a statement COSATU said they condemn what they call Julius Malema’s irresponsible call for “a national strike at all the mines until Frans Baleni and the NUM leadership step down with immediate effect”.

Malema made this call yesterday while addressing miners near Carltonville.

“Of course we are not opposed to strikes in general but this is pure opportunism,” spokesperson Patrick Craven said.

He said that Malema is exploiting their anger for his own personal political ends and is using the workers as a “political football”.

“We also note that his main target is not the employers who are ultimately responsible for the low pay and the bad conditions of the mineworkers but (it is) at NUM,” Craven said.

Craven said that Malema’s true colours are now being exposed.

“He is not seriously interested in uniting the workers behind a strong union but he wants to divide the workers which make them weaker,” he said.

COSATU called on miners to reject Malema’s rhetoric and remain united to form a strong coalition.

Craven said that the only way to improve the lives of the miners is to have a strong union in place.

“They (unions) have already done a lot but there is still more that needs to be done,” he said.