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Johannesburg - Newly-registered trade union South African Public Service Union (Sapsu) is gunning for 100 000 members by the end of this year, interim president Thobile Ntola said on Thursday.
Ntola said the union was registered and issued with a certificate of registration on Thursday last week. Ntola is a former president of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) who was expelled by the teachers’ union.
Thousands of workers had been waiting for the union’s registration before leaving their current unions. Now that the registration process has been completed, Sapsu is encouraging workers to ditch their respective unions, Ntola said.
He said the union would have 100 000 members by the end of this year. “We will tap into existing unions,” he said. In addition to that, the union, which he described as militant, non-aligned and independent, would target workers who are not part of unions.
About 72% of public service workers do not belong to unions. Ntola said Sapsu wanted to attract at least half of the non-unioned workers to the union within five years.
“We are confident. We are everywhere. The workers are ready for us. Our enemy are neo-liberal policies,” he said.
Ntola said the union would organise workers in education - including adult basic education, early childhood development and further education and training (FET) - correctional services, safety and security, defence, academia, social development, local government, judiciary and all state agencies.
Ntola took a swipe at unions aligned to the Congress of South African Trade Unions, saying their leaders are not vocal enough on matters affecting workers because they are eyeing cushy positions.
The union’s first deputy secretary general Paul Mbhele, another former leader of Sadtu who was expelled in 2013, said Sapsu would be ready to hold a national congress in June next year. That will be preceded by regional and provincial congresses around the country, Mbhele said.
