The 11th Congress of the COSATU, South Africa's trade union centre, ends today in Braamfontein. The Congress was opened on Monday by COSATU President, Sidumo Dlamini, who gave a wide ranging address on global and national issues, placing the tragic events in Marikana in the context of a South Africa where '54% of the workers receive no regular wage increments or have their wages determined solely by their employers. Yet Capital has been calling for the need to decentralise or even abolish collective bargaining. The reality is that currently bargaining councils cover just 9% of the workforce, while only 23% of the workers` wages are negotiated directly through unions'
http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=6523
