Johannesburg – The General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) has described the George constructing collapse report as a “damning indictment of revenue over folks”.
The report, launched on Saturday, 19 July 2025, revealed shoddy workmanship, the usage of substandard cement, and a blatant disregard for employee security.
RELATED: George Building Collapse: Probe Finds Serious Anomalies, Several Red Flags Were Ignored – The Bulrushes
A yr after harmful anomalies had been identified, which included cracks in columns, unusual vibrations within the slab, and even seen holes by partitions within the basement, the constructing ultimately caved in.
It was on 6 May 2024, when the constructing collapsed on high of building staff, killing 34 and injuring 28 others.
The union, which stated it “stands in profound grief and solidarity with the households, colleagues, and neighborhood devastated by the catastrophic collapse of the 75 Victoria Street constructing in George,” demanded a number of actions, together with “legal prosecution” of all accountable events.
“The brutal, pointless deaths of 34 staff weren’t merely a tragedy, however the direct, predictable consequence of a capitalist system that prioritises revenue maximisation above human life and dignity,” GIWUSA stated.
“The findings of the Council for the Built Environment report verify what staff expertise day by day; underneath the relentless drive for revenue, security is sacrificed, and corners are minimize.
“Workers turn into disposable commodities in a building of buildings that pose a risk to their lives and well being, the protection of people that subsequently occupy and use them, in addition to the general public at massive.”
GIWUSA stated within the mild of those damning findings it was demanding the next:
1. Justice for the Victims: Criminal prosecution of all accountable events – web site managers, suppliers, engineers, builders, and the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) inspectors.
End company impunity; jail these whose greed killed staff.
2. Full Reparations: Comprehensive help for victims’ households and injured staff, paid for by the businesses and the compensation fund accountable.
The blood of 34 staff stains the arms of the profiteers and the complicit state.
3. Urgent Overhaul Rooted in Worker Protection, Not Profit by doing the next:
- Modernise the National Building Regulations to mandate security, implement verified competence, require digital danger monitoring, and facilitate worker-centered innovation – funded by taxes on company income.
- Unified Worker-Oriented Enforcement: Create a single, highly effective, employee consultant Built Environment Regulator with prosecutorial enamel, dismantling the silos that serve capital.
- End Self-Assessment: Implement state-administered, rigorous competence verification for all vital roles. Funded coaching for staff and engineers.
- Digital Monitoring: Implement real-time, worker-accessible digital platforms for security information, enabling proactive hazard identification and employee intervention.
4. Workers’ Control Over Safety: Mandate worker-elected web site security committees with rapid, binding stop-work authority.
Guarantee full union entry to all security information and studies.
5. Massive Public Investment in Skills: Funded by wealth taxes and company taxes, massively broaden public technical schooling and steady expertise improvement for staff and professionals.
The union stated: “George shouldn’t be an anomaly; it’s the brutal logic of capitalism laid naked”.
GIWUSA pledged a “relentless class battle to dismantle this exploitative system.
“We will mobilise our members, unite with staff throughout sectors, and struggle till workplaces are managed by those that construct them, and human life is valued infinitely greater than company revenue.
“The reminiscence of the George 75 calls for nothing lower than systemic revolution.”
