1. INTRODUCTION

1.1) Solidarity Network is an independent website, compiled and published on https://solidariteit.co.za by the Solidarity trade union.

1.2) Solidarity Network has been compiled specifically with a view to rendering services to members and supporters of Solidarity. Using the Solidarity Network website is free of charge, although certain services can only be seen or used by fully paid-up members of Solidarity.

1.3) Solidarity Network aims to expose users to all the institutions of the Solidarity Movement and the relevant benefits and services offered by them.

2. VALUES

2.1) Conversations on the website take place within a specific preferential space reflected by the content of the website.

2.2) Christian values framework: The conversations take place within a Christian framework, which will affect the style and content of the conversations.

2.3) Individual freedom: Every person is in the first place responsible for himself or herself and should be free from coercion to follow his/her calling.

2.4) Free community forming: Every person should be able to live life to the full in a community – the cornerstone of civilisation and a meaningful life.

2.5) Respect for the authority of tradition: The onus of proof for rejecting a custom or tradition rests on the person who does the rejecting.

2.6) Approach: A civilised ton is adopted in articles. Readers may find the articles challenging but not aggravating.

3. LIMITED LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY

3.1) The user uses the website at his/her own risk.

3.2) By using https://solidariteit.co.za, i.e. Solidarity Network, the user gives Solidarity permission to contact him/her at any of the contact details provided when his/her user profile was created.

3.3) Solidarity endeavours to use original material and to exchange ideas and opinions openly, fairly and in an unrestricted way. The views and comments of users of this website are therefore their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the management and editorial team of Solidarity.

3.4) Solidarity does not offer any guarantees regarding the website or its content.

3.5) Solidarity does not guarantee the truth or correctness of any information posted on the website. Although Solidarity does everything in its power to ensure the quality and accuracy of the services and information, it is the user’s responsibility to check the truth or correctness thereof.

3.6) Solidarity is not liable for any loss, expenses or damages of whatsoever nature that the user may suffer or incur as a result of his/her access to or use of any information contained on the website, including, without limit, any loss, expenses or damages that arose as a result of one of the following:

• incorrect information contained on the website;
• unauthorised access to or amendment of the website by a third party;
• the website not being available;
• the user’s data or computer, or the data or computer equipment of a third party the user used to gain access to the website, being lost or destroyed;
• liaison or trading with or the use of services of an independent service provider or advertiser on the Solidarity Network.

3.7) The user indemnifies Solidarity against any warning, claim or legal action instituted against Solidarity and/or the institutions of the Solidarity Movement that arise directly or indirectly from the user’s use of, participation in, or access to this website.

3.8) Solidarity retains the right to change the website and/or its content, upgrade it or suspend it at its own discretion and at any time.

3.9) Solidarity reserves the right to moderate, remove, or censor any content shared on the platform that violates any of our policies or guidelines. We also reserve the right to suspend or terminate the accounts of users who repeatedly violate these rules.

3.10) The user is himself/herself responsible for any content that the user sends to Solidarity, loads on the website or forwards to a third party by means of Solidarity.

3.11) By uploading or sharing content on Solidarity Network, users confirm that they have the rights to this content, and that it does not violate any laws or infringe upon copyright, trademarks or other intellectual property rights. Users are solely responsible for the content they share and any violations it may cause.

3.12) Solidarity will not be held responsible for the loss of any content that the user loads onto the website or that has been forwarded by the website, and it is the responsibility of the user to make a reserve copy.

3.13) Without derogating from the general meaning of the above, the user admits and accepts that when he/she posts any publication, comment, information or any other contribution on the website, it could, as a result of slander, lead to potential harm to other users of Solidarity Network publishing on the website.

3.14) Without derogating from the above, the user indemnifies Solidarity against any claim for slander that the user could potentially institute against another Solidarity Network user or that can be instituted against him/her by such other users.

4. PRIVACY

4.1) Solidarity is committed to protecting your privacy. Personal data collected from users, such as the contact information provided when their profile is created, will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which describes in detail how we collect, use and protect user data.

4.2) The user gives his/her permission for Solidarity to collect the personal information the user imparts to us by using the website. By uploading information onto the website, the user agrees that Solidarity may collect, process and store the information under these terms and conditions. This consent is deemed to be full consent under the Protection of Personal Information Act (No. 4 of 2013) (POPIA).

4.3) Solidarity can use this personal information in order to market products within the Solidarity Movement and partners, as well to improve the functionality of the website. By accepting these terms and conditions, the user consents to be contacted by Institutions within the Solidarity Movement to present products and services, and that his or her personal information may be used for historical, statistical and research purposes.

4.4) Solidarity will only share the user’s personal information with selected third parties who render services on the website. These third parties are clearly indicated on the website on the specific portal where the user shares his/her information.

4.5) Solidarity will not share the user’s information with any other party who is not a partner of the website without obtaining the user’s permission beforehand, unless Solidarity is compelled to do so in terms of current legislation, if this is required to run the website or if it is in the public interest to release the information.

4.6) The user hereby gives his/her permission that Solidarity may pass on his/her personal information to the website’s service providers and partners in order to run the website.

4.7) Cookies: A cookie, also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie, is a small volume of data sent from a website and stored in the user’s web browser while the user uses the website.

4.8) Every time the user visits the website, the browser returns the cookie to the server to inform the website of the user’s previous activity.

4.9) Cookies are reliable instruments when designing websites to recall information on a statement (e.g. items in an e-shopping cart) or to capture the user’s browser activities (including clicks on specific buttons, sign-ons, or the pages used months or years ago by the user). Solidarity Network uses cookies.

4.10) The user accepts the content of paragraphs 4.7 – 4.9 above.

5. COPYRIGHT

5.1) Copyright and all other immaterial property law of the website, including the lay-out, design, logos, graphics and multimedia works appearing on it, belong to Solidarity unless such rights are expressly reserved by the author before they are published on the website.

5.2) The user may look at, print and make one copy of such works on his/her hard drive, on condition that:

• it is for personal use and is not used for any commercial purpose;
• the user displays a rendering of our copyright notice on every copy;
• the user does not change the works in such a way that it is harmful to Solidarity.

5.3) Without derogating from the provisions contained in paragraph 5.1 above, Solidarity confirms that the copyright of contributions, articles and other literary works created by the user and sent to Solidarity, belong to the user. As soon as the user posts any articles, contributions or other literary works on the website, that action gives Solidarity a transferable, perpetual, worldwide and tantième-free licence to put the user’s works on the Solidarity Network.

5.4) If the intellectual property of material presented by a user for placement on the website belongs to a third party, the user undertakes to inform the third party of this, and the user indemnifies Solidarity against any claim that the owner of those intellectual property rights can institute against Solidarity.

5.5) The trademarks and logos on Solidarity Network are the registered, and where applicable, the non-registered trademarks of Solidarity. Nothing on the website may be interpreted in such a way as to mean that the user obtains a licence or the right to use any trademark without Solidarity’s permission.

6. CONTENT MANAGEMENT

6.1) From time-to-time, Solidarity Network uses the practice of aggregation of content by republishing information gathered from other sources.

6.2) Aggregated content is always rewritten by Solidarity’s journalists.

6.3) Where possible, new information is added

6.4) The original source of aggregated content is always indicated, with an active link to the original source article.

6.5) The discretion of deciding which content is put on Solidarity Network rests exclusively with Solidarity.

6.6) When using content from other sources, Solidarity will ensure that it complies with copyright laws and, where necessary, obtain permission from the original source.

6.7) Solidarity undertakes to take reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of aggregated content prior to publication.

6.8) If aggregated content is modified or updated after publication, Solidarity will clearly indicate that changes have been made as well as the nature of such changes.

6.9) Users of the Solidarity Network are encouraged to report to Solidarity any errors or concerns regarding aggregated content.

7. LINKS TO THIRD PARTIES

7.1) The website contains links to other websites with information and other material created by third parties. Solidarity cannot accept any liability for the content on these websites.

7.2) A link on the Solidarity Network website to another website does not mean that Solidarity has checked the content of that website and neither does it mean that Solidarity approved that content.

7.3) Solidarity is not responsible for the security practices or privacy policies of any linked third-party websites. Users should check the privacy policy and security provisions of such websites.

7.4) Users agree to indemnify Solidarity from any liability, direct or indirect, that may arise as a result of the use of content, services, or any other material obtained on or through a third-party website.

8. PARTICIPATION BY READERS

8.1) Any user is welcome to make comments and participate in Solidarity Network. However, these comments should be free from racism, sexism, homophobia, inappropriate personal remarks, other forms of hate speech or crude, strong and foul language.

8.2) Users are linked to an electronic profile.

8.3) Users may use only one profile on Solidarity Network.

8.4) Users’ comments are placed automatically and unchanged on Solidarity Network as they are made.

8.5) Comments must be in accordance with the civilised tone and value system of Solidarity Network.

8.6) The intentional disruption of conversations, among other things by making irrelevant, provoking statements, that is to say by trolling or flaming, is not permitted.

8.7) Stalking fellow commentators by focusing continuously on their comments and standing in the way of other people responding meaningfully to those commentators is not permitted.

8.8) Repeatedly placing the same content in different comment pieces or placing irrelevant information or links to irrelevant web addresses, is not permitted.

8.9) Racist and sexist comment, or comment that is otherwise offensive or discriminatory, is not allowed.

8.10) Other readers, users and commentators may not be personally attacked and/or humiliated.

8.11) Comment must be relevant to the article about which the comment is made.

8.12) Comment that incites violence, represents hate speech, includes crude or foul use of language, or that is slanderous or blasphemous, will not be tolerated.

8.13) The successful placement of comment is subject to an automatic screening process based on a previously determined list of undesirable and unacceptable words and phrases.

8.14) Liaison, trading or price fixing with, or the use of services of an independent service provider or advertiser on Solidarity Network, remains the exclusive responsibility of the user.

8.15) Solidarity will not act as the middleman or agent of any user of Solidarity Network or independent service provider or advertiser.

8.16) By using the Solidarity Network website or any portion thereof, including but not limited to portals, the Facebook page of Solidarity and the blogs, or the Solidarity newsletter (jointly the “website”), the user commits himself/herself to the conditions of use as set out here. The conditions of use come into force at the time the user uses the website for the first time and forms a perpetual agreement between the user and Solidarity.

8.17) If users do not wish to be bound by the terms and conditions set out here, they must refrain from visiting or using the website, and/or from making contributions to it.

8.18) Solidarity Network retains the right, without further notice, to remove unilaterally any comment that, in our opinion, is not subject to the terms of this policy.

8.19) The user does not have to be informed of his/her comments being removed and Solidarity Network does not need to give reasons for removing them.

9. COMPLAINTS

9.1) If any user submits a complaint/grievance about another user’s comment and/or profile, the complaint/grievance will be investigated by Solidarity Network.

9.2) The preferred mechanism for comment and profile control is the judgement of other users who report inappropriate comments and/or profiles by means of the built-in complaint mechanism.

9.3) The computer function that can be used to address complaints to Solidarity Network is located underneath every article in the Comments block, at the link “Report”.

9.4) Comments about which a certain number of complaints have been received, as determined by the editing team from time to time, are usually removed.

9.5) Comments that receive a complaint providing full reasons for the complaint, even if there are no complaints from other users, are evaluated according to the merits of the case.

9.6) On accepting these terms and conditions, the user accepts his/her comments and/or profile may be amended or removed if they do not meet these terms and conditions.

9.7) If a user is repeatedly guilty of violating these terms and conditions, he/she can, in terms of clause 8.18 above, be permanently blocked from commenting on Solidarity Network or from creating a profile again.

9.8) Users have the right to appeal or file a counter-complaint if they feel that their comments have been unfairly removed or that they have been treated unfairly by Solidarity Network. To submit an appeal or counter-complaint, the user must send a motivated letter to the Solidarity Network administration, clearly setting out the reasons for the appeal or counter-complaint.

10. GENERAL

10.1) Solidarity may change the terms and conditions of the Solidarity Network at any time. By viewing the website, the user commits himself/herself to the latest version of the terms and conditions.

10.2) The user realises that it is his/her duty to be abreast of the latest version of the terms and conditions of the Solidarity Network.

10.3) Solidarity is registered as a trade union in terms of the Labour Relations Act (No. 66 of 1995) (as amended) and is therefore only empowered to deal with labour law matters, which is one of the membership benefits offered by the trade union.

10.4) All legal matters of members outside the field of labour law can be dealt with by independent service providers on Solidarity Network. The use of one of these service providers does not form part of the member benefits of Solidarity.

10.5) Solidarity Legal Services is not bound by the advice and articles published on the page. When the user reads an article, the publication date must be noted so that the user can ascertain the latest legal position,

10.6) No other terms or conditions for the use of the website except the latest version on the website will be regarded as binding, and the user commits himself/herself irrevocably to this version.

10.7) Should a dispute arise about the content of the latest conditions of use, the decision of Solidarity will be final in this regard.

11. COOKIES AND PRIVACY POLICY

11.1) Solidarity Network may use cookies and other similar technologies to improve the user experience on the website and to offer personalised content and advertisements. By using the website, the user agrees to the use of cookies in accordance with Solidarity Network’s privacy policy. Users are encouraged to regularly review Solidarity Network’s privacy policy to stay informed of how their personal information is protected and used.

12. PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT (PAIA) SECTION 51

12.1) Click here to read more.