Trade union Solidarity has declared a formal dispute with government, calling on other trade unions, employers and community organisations to do the same.

This follows Solidarity’s letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa underscoring the crisis relating to retrenchments and proposing action.

ArcelorMittal South Africa is winding down its Long Steel operations, directly affecting 3 500 workers in Newcastle and Vereeniging, and potentially threatening over 100 000 downstream jobs.

Solidarity said it expected this number to increase drastically within the next three months.

“…however, the President did not respond to the letter. Solidarity also previously wrote to the Minister of Trade and Industry Parks Tau, warning of the coming crisis. A proposed trade framework was also sent to President Ramaphosa, and once again, there was no response to the letter,” said Solidarity CEO Dr Dirk Hermann.

In the automotive sector, almost 500 Ford employees in Pretoria and Gqeberha face retrenchment, while Goodyear’s closure of its 78-year-old tyre plant in Kariega will impact around 900 direct jobs and thousands more in the supply chain.

Hermann pointed out that National Economic Development and Labour Council rules stipulate that there must be formal mediation between the parties.

“We experience the government as one that deals recklessly with people’s work. We trust that the dispute will put greater pressure on the government and that other role players will also enter dispute with the government. South Africa must stand up for people’s jobs and for our country,” he stated.

Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis said the reasons provided in retrenchment notices and discussions with employers included poor infrastructure such as railways and ports, unpredictable power supply and electricity prices, poor policy and the government’s inability to conclude a favourable trade agreement with the US government.

Meanwhile, Solidarity highlighted that several role players in the US government had agreed to talk to the trade union about its framework for a trade agreement.

Representatives of Solidarity are leaving for the US this week to mitigate the consequences of the harsh trade tariffs and to help facilitate a trade agreement.