S Africa workers march in show of force

JOHANNESBURG, June 13 (Reuters) Thousands of South African workers marched today in sympathy with striking civil servants in a show of force that highlighted the divide between the ruling African National Congress and its trade union allies.

Central Johannesburg came to a standstill as about 15,000 union supporters chanted slogans denouncing President Thabo Mbeki's government, reflecting anger over economic policies that critics say have left South Africa's poor majority behind.

Marchers thronged the streets of other major cities, including Cape Town, according to local media. Many belonged to the powerful Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), allied with the ANC and the South African Communist Party.

Analysts say the strike, which began on June 1, has become a demonstration of workers' power ahead of a leadership congress this year that may see the ANC name a successor to Mbeki.

The strike has caused chaos in hospitals, schools and public offices and some South Africans say loved ones have died as a result of problems in hospitals and other key facilities.

Taxi driver Collen Ramodike said his sister died in a Johannesburg hospital on Sunday because no medical staff were there to treat her meningitis. ''Even getting a death certificate is a problem because there is nobody at Home Affairs,'' he said.

Union leaders had promised to paralyse the country on Wednesday but turnout was uneven. Activity in Durban, home to the largest port, was virtually halted as buses and taxis stopped operating, but the economic capital Johannesburg was largely unscathed, with public transport widely available.

The sympathy strike came as Mbeki opened the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, a global meeting of political and business leaders who have gathered to discuss Africa's prospects.

PROTEST SONGS Union protest songs reverberated in the forum conference hall and some analysts said the labour problems could unnerve potential investors in Africa's largest economy.

''The strike continuing is not helping the cause. A country with a labour issue is not good for investment,'' said Ion de Vleeschauwer, a currency trader at Rennies Bank.

Mbeki is due to step down as president in 2009, and there is speculation the ANC may step away from his market-friendly policies, which COSATU and other critics say have failed to dent economic disparities that linger from the apartheid era.

Union anger has been stoked by a plan to give huge pay increases to top government officials at a time when the government is only offering civil servants a 7.25 per cent wage hike. The striking workers want a 10-per cent increase.

Mbeki's salary would have jumped 57 per cent, based on the recommendations of a government-appointed commission. But he and his cabinet have rejected the proposed hikes, government spokesman Themba Maseko said.

Workers in essential services, such as police, healthcare and emergency services, are barred from joining the strike, and some COSATU unions, including the influential National Union of Mineworkers, did not join the boycott.

Unions, which collectively represent about 60 per cent of the country's nearly 1 million public servants, said they would stick to their demands.

''So, the government has a choice: do they see a long winter or do they want to settle?'' COSATU General Secretary Vavi Zwelinzima told workers outside parliament in Cape Town.

Tony Modise, spokesman for the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union, warned there could be disruption at police stations and prisons if workers' demands were not met by Friday.

REUTERS CS BST2236