COSATU statement on the privatization of prisons

The Congress of South African Trade Unions is completely appalled to hear that the private security company, G4S, that is running the Mangaung Correctional Centre in the Free State, has mercilessly fired more than 300 Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) members for staging a strike.

This had led to a spate of stabbings at the prison since the middle of September and this week the situation ended in a hostage drama where a senior female warden was taken hostage by four inmates.

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