16 June, 2010South African unions representing workers in the main industrial sectors of the country announced a National Day of Action in solidarity with workers and trade unions of Mexico
SOUTH AFRICA: On June 15 the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the IMF-affiliated National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) and the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union (CEPPAWU) announced their decision to embark on a National Day of Action in solidarity with workers and trade unions in Mexico against the continued attacks against unionists by the Mexican government.
The South African unions decided to use the occasion of the 2010 FIFA World Cup as a platform for raising the plight of the workers and the poor in Mexico.
"This is informed by our political convictions that soccer is a working class sport and it should be used to mobilize society around a particular political programme geared towards fostering solidarity, peace and friendship amongst the people of the world," states the joint press release.
In their statement, the unions demand the Mexican government to recognize Napoleón Gómez Urrutia as the democratically elected General Secretary of the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM); to lift all charges against him and other Mexican trade union leaders; to immediately return all frozen assets to the SNTMMSRM; to restore the rights of workers to organize and embark on strike actions; to release unconditionally all trade union leaders and activists languishing in jails; and to end continued harassment and torture of trade union activists by the police.
The unions announced a National Day of Action in front of the Mexican Embassy for June 28, 2010. To put additional pressure on the Mexican Government, a series of pickets on June 17 through June 22 will be organized, on days when the Mexican soccer team will be playing.