A Shoprite Checkers truck was torched in Naledi, Soweto, on Monday afternoon (October 8 2012), allegedly by striking truck drivers. Picture: Lucky Nxumalo/City Press
Related Articles
Johannesburg - Destruction of property and assaulting
people during strikes is unacceptable, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.
"We should discourage such activities. They are not
good for our country," he told the Black Business Summit in Midrand,
Johannesburg.
"The rights of workers and employers are guaranteed in
the Constitution of our country. We have adequate mechanisms to resolve
disputes in our country."
Zuma said the country had lost R4.5bn in the gold and
platinum mining sectors, and R180m in the coal industry, due to ongoing
strikes.
Currently an estimated 75 000 miners and 20 000 truck
drivers were on strike.
"Our responsibility is to ensure that we do not reach a
crisis point," Zuma said.
He said that the labour unrest had caused a leading ratings
agency to lower the country's economic outlook. Foreign investors were
concerned about the strike and the fact that it could reduce the country's
ability to attract foreign investment.
* Follow Fin24 on Twitter and Facebook.