The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) fully supports the COSATU national day of action to take place across the country tomorrow, 13^th of February 2019.

Workers within different economic sectors in our country have over the years experienced the brunt of job losses through retrenchments, privatisation, corruption and we demand an end to this regressive trend.

According to Stats SA, 16000 jobs were lost in the 3^rd quarter of 2018, and corrupt activities had cost the South African Gross Domestic product (GDP) at least R27bn annually as well as the loss of 76000 jobs that would otherwise have been created.

Within the criminal justice cluster, we have witnessed revelations around the rampant corrupt acts perpetrated by departmental officials and private companies through the privatisation and tenderisation of services that should be insourced, resulting in a decline of the much needed staff complement and service delivery.

This COSATU national day of action provides an opportune moment for workers and communities to vent out their dissatisfaction with the manner in which public institutions that are supposed to offer services have been dysfunctional over the years, and further add a united voice in determining the direction they ought to take in restoring trust.

We call on our government to take seriously the plight of workers across sectors by ending casualisation, tenderisation and job losses. In particular, it should be ensured that besides all investigations into allegations made at the State Capture and other Commissions of Inquiry and perpetrators facing sufficient penalties, there should be an inclusive process to review how our departments and institutions such as Corrections and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) respectively carry out their mandates here forth, in ensuring a corrupt-free future.

We call on our members to join this legally protected COSATU national day of action in their numbers.

Issued by POPCRU on 12/02/2019