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The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, (NUMSA) will participate in negotiations with the Road Accident Fund, which will be facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). NUMSA members have been on strike since the 16th of March 2017.

NUMSA has resolved to intensify the strike during the course of the mediation and has engaged members to implement a total shut down of the RAF, at the East London, Durban and Pretoria branches. It cannot be business as usual at the RAF when it is in shambles. This organisation perpetuates inequality by refusing to deal decisively with massive income gaps. In addition, working conditions for workers are deteriorating at an alarming rate. The RAF is routinely having its assets attached because of outstanding debt; surely, this cannot be allowed to continue, especially because it has an impact on the RAF’s ability to pay out claims!

We are concerned about whether claimants at the RAF have had their confidentiality violated as a result of the chaotic state of the organisation, which is why we asked the Public Protector to investigate.  The Public Protector has confirmed that they received our complaint, and they will confirm soon whether they can take it further.

The RAF is tasked with compensating fairly those who have suffered as a result of accidents on our roads. In the year 2014/2015 we lost 4500 people from road accidents! As NUMSA we believe the Public Protector must ensure that the RAF runs efficiently for the sake of workers and society in general.

We are a revolutionary trade union, we are not political about the lives of our people. The RAF must be a demonstration that as a society, we care about those whose lives are destroyed as a result of an accident. We must build societies which can take care of the most vulnerable members of our communities. The RAF should strive to be in terms of its management and in its day to day principles, to be operate like the Public Protector, because it services the most defenceless members of our society.

NUMSA is determined to resolve the strike. But in order for there to be any movement, the parties must be prepared to move from their positions. The big question which confronts road accident workers and the public is whether the current leadership of Dr Eugene Watson and his team are prepared to move from their position.  As NUMSA we will approach these negotiations with an open mind and we will act in the interests of workers and South Africans as a whole.

The CCMA will be facilitating mediation at the RAF Menlyn offices in Pretoria on the 27th and the 28th of March 2017.

Issued by NUMSA