Solidarity Movement supports Cosatu's protest against e-tolling

The 17 institutions of the Solidarity Movement, including trade union Solidarity, Solidarity Helping Hand and AfriForum, support trade union federation Cosatu's protest action against the planned e-tolling system. Solidarity has called on all South Africans to voice their protest against e-tolling tomorrow. The protest against e-tolling could be an opportunity for South Africans to unite to everyone's benefit.

Although Solidarity urges its members and community to support the protest, the trade union was not part of Cosatu's section 77 application at Nedlac and consequently its members will not be able to participate in a protected strike. Solidarity encourages its members to voice their protest in other, creative ways.

The Solidarity Movement's civil rights organisation, AfriForum, was continually involved in submissions which expressed the unfeasibility of the e-tolling system in its present form and the proposed toll tariffs. AfriForum is on the point of implementing a legal strategy to combat the introduction of e-tolling.

Solidarity does not support the strike with reference to the issue of labour brokers and maintains that the issues of e-tolling and labour brokers must be kept separate. Tomorrow's protest action is an opportunity to take a stand against e-tolling.

Statement issued by Dirk Hermann, Deputy General Secretary: Solidarity, March 6 2012

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