NEHAWU's Mike Shingange stands firm against political lobbying and worker retrenchments

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) president, Mike Shingange, has reacted strongly against lobby groups and political parties that have fuelled the Donald Trump-led disinformation campaign against the country.

Shingange said these trips to the US, recently undertaken by some lobby groups and political parties, have led to tariff hikes affecting South African exports to the US, with the recent 30% tariff hike on certain SA goods and products taking effect early this month.

Furthermore, Shingange said the union, which is hosting its National Bargaining Conference at Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni, refuses to be forced to sign collective agreements with employers that allow for forced and unlawful worker retrenchments in the public service.

He revealed that the union will not move away from its mandate, which is to unite, protect, and fight for workers and their rights.

"We are not going to be forced to sign a collective agreement that agrees with the fact that workers must be retrenched in the public service under the pretext of a voluntary severance package. NEHAWU is not going to sign that agreement that says the leadership of the union will agree to sign when the employer comes to a worker who is 54 years of age, we must inform these workers that they must be retrenched because the union has signed. We know the employer has the right under the current laws to initiate an employer-initiated early retirement without penalties," he stated.

On the contentious issue of voluntary retrenchments, Shingange added that some employers now trick their employees into taking forced retrenchments, adding that the regulations now empower workers to apply for early retirement without incurring penalties against their pensions.

"We know that the employer has the right to initiate an early retirement. We know the employee has the right now to apply to the executive authority for their voluntary retirement without penalties. Let us keep at that. It cannot be called voluntary, but it is forced retirement because people must now sign that they are going to volunteer. How do you sign that you are going to volunteer, because I must feel it within myself that I am volunteering now," he stated.

On the recent developments leading to South Africa being given a negative reputation at the White House, Shingange said the union would like to see harsh sanctions against some of the lobby groups and political parties that have contributed to US President Donald Trump’s disinformation campaign against the country.

Early this year, some members of the DA, AfriForum, and Solidarity took several trips to Washington, where they are accused of leading calls for Trump’s administration to punish Pretoria for its race laws, the enactment of the Expropriation Act, and South Africa's foreign policy.

"We cannot allow our country to be sanctioned for manufactured lies of white genocide and fictitious prosecution of white Afrikaners. To this extent, AfriForum, Solidarity, Freedom Front Plus, the Board of Jewish Deputies, and the South African Zionist Federation must be declared enemies of our democratic state and be called to account for their sustained misinformation against our country.

"That today, what in the past would have been considered treasonous, that you go out of your own country and decampaign your own country, has not been punished as a crime against the democratic state, is amazing for our path," he stated.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za