Business Unity South Africa’s executive officer Cas Coovadia has told Eyewitness News that while they understood the issues which had pushed workers out on the streets, it was counterproductive.
FILE: Cosatu members march in Cape Town in protest against the poor state of the country’s public transport system on 20 February 2020. Picture: Kaylynn Palm/EWN
JOHANNESBURG – Business Unity South Africa (Busa) said the impact of Wednesday’s national strike by the country’s labour unions and federations would have a severe impact on the economy.
The organisation’s executive officer Cas Coovadia told Eyewitness News that while they understood the issues which have pushed workers out on the streets, it was counterproductive.
Busa is concerned that the national strike on Wednesday will haemorrhage whatever is left of investor confidence in the country.
While the Congress of South African Trade Unions, South African Federation of Trade Unions and Federation of Union South Africa employees who will be taking to the streets and staying away from work on Wednesday are protesting about the continued decline of the economy, Coovadia said this would harm the economy even further.
“We are trying to rebuild the economy, not from COVID, but from the recession we were in pre-COVID. So, we think it is incorrect to have a protest and a full-day strike.”
Coovadia, however, said as businesses, Busa did identify with the issues raised by labour around corruption, among other issues, which had led to the protest.
The private and public sector will be among the hardest-hit industries when workers withdraw their labour on Wednesday.
