SOUTH AFRICA's MINING and automobile industries ground to a near halt as tens of thousands of workers downed tools in Gauteng, the North West, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape provinces on July 23 to voice their ``disgust'' with rising living costs.

Thousands of commuters were stranded as taxi, bus and train drivers stayed away, while essential services also ground to a near halt as the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) flexed its muscles in Johannesburg, the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and North West.

Protesters dispersed peacefully in all four provinces by midday, singing liberation songs and making their way to their buses and taxis amid a strong police presence.

Police in all four provinces said they had not received any reports of violence or intimidation. The protests followed similar stayaways a week earlier in the Free State, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga.

Addressing some 25,000 protesters in Johannesburg, Cosatu General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said: ``Together we have formed a broad coalition of organisations prepared to register their disgust at the spiralling cost of living affecting people''.

Protesters chanting ``no to electricity hikes'' handed to an official of power parastatal Eskom a memorandum containing demands for cost cutting, for workers not to be retrenched and for the development of alternative energy resources. Eskom has been given permission to increase its tariffs by 27.5%.

A second memorandum calling for the government to finding a lasting resolution to the electricity crisis was handed to Gauteng Member of the Executuive Committee responsible for local government Qedani Mahlangu, who said the government would meet with Cosatu before a planned national stayaway on August 6.

Vavi told protesters the stayaway had brought cities in four provinces to a standstill. He lashed out at government ministers for lack of service delivery, saying they should ``pack their bags and follow those who also  could not deliver''. He cited Finance Minister Trevor Manuel who ``refused to implement the zero-rate on staple-foods''.

Vavi added, ``We warn you that you are not indispensible....if you don't listen, we'll ask you to stand aside and allow others who'll implement the resolutions to take over''.

Vavi also warned other cabinet ministers that they would be sacked like Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool and Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela if they did not follow the ``pro-poor policies'' adopted at the ANC national conference in Polokwane.

``For the cabinet ministers we have one message: Polokwane has happened .... familiarise yourselves with the policy directives from Polokwane'', he said.

Johannesburg metro police estimated that 25,000 people participated in the Gauteng march while some 8,000 workers downed tools in Rustenburg. Another four marches took place in the Eastern Cape without ``a glitch'', according to Cosatu.

North West Cosatu spokesman Solly Phetoe said there was an excellent response from workers in the province. The Southern African Clothing & Textile Workers' Union (Sactwu) said the industry had virtually ground to a halt. A survey at 135 companies in the targeted four provinces showed that 72% of its 17,100 members did not report for duty.

Meanwhile, market researcher Ipsos Markinor released a survey of 3,500 South Africans from all provinces, language groups and religions, concluding that Cosatu members had good reason to protest. The survey found that the majority of Cosatu members did not think the government was handling rising costs well.

Some 66% of members questioned believed the government was ``not at all handling the increase in the petrol price well''. Another 68% felt the same about rising food prices while 54% said the electricity crisis was not being handled well.

Markinor said ``Cosatu members were extremely worried about... bread and butter issues'' and the protests were not only aimed against the government but also the private sector.

While some gold mines were shut down by the strike others were not affected. More than 130kg of gold production is estimated to have been lost at two mines.

COMMENT

Economists have criticised Cosatu for causing a shut down in mining and other production which they say will increase costs rather than lowering them. They say the demonstration is counter-productive.

A surprising development was a decision by the Gauteng ANC leadership to join Cosatu in its countrywide protests. ``The march is one of the things that need to be done. The ANC takes up issues affecting people. Rocketing prices are not questionable'', according to ANC provincial secretary in Gauteng, David Makhura. ``We must arrest this process'', he added.

The ANC is clearly trying to curry favour with workers while the electricity tariff increase is largely due to lack of timely and appropriate decision making by the ANC government and its deployed cadres in Eskom. It is also remarkable that the ANC should decide to support a protest which damages the economy.