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Campaigns: COSATU Memorandum of Job Creation Demands, March 2000 Crush Poverty! Create Quality Jobs!
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In July 1999 COSATU served a Section 77 notice to Nedlac. The aim of
the notice was to highlight our concerns around the increasing number of
job losses in our country.
Since 1984, hundreds of thousands of workers have lost their jobs.
Retrenchments have taken place even when the economy has grown – and
economists predict more job losses in 2000. Nationally up to 37% of
workers are unemployed. Black, women and young workers are the
hardest hit.
In addition, the bosses have replaced quality jobs with temporary and
sweatshop work through subcontracting and outsourcing. In this way, they
undercut the higher salaries, benefits and job security we won over many
years of struggle.
There is a direct relationship between joblessness, poverty, crime,
violence, HIV/AIDS and other health hazards. The loss of jobs takes place
without adequate plans being put in place to look after the needs of the
unemployed. Government relieves this for an extremely limited period
through UIF payments. Business plays little - if any - role.
We had initially put forward the following demands…these had been
narrowed down to the following four areas as a result of ongoing
engagement.
COSATU marches today as part of a national campaign on the
jobs crisis.
We initiated this campaign because workers are under attack.
Over 500 000 jobs have been lost since 1994. Thousands of quality jobs have been replaced by casualised, sub
contracted, sweatshop and temporary jobs that push more and more of
the working class into poverty. As a result of these strategies and the persistence of low wages in
many sectors, the army of the working poor is growing by the day.
According to the 1996 census, 26 per cent of workers earned less than
R500 a month. The evidence shows clearly that unemployment is the main cause of
poverty. The poorest households are the most likely to have no one
employed, and those who are employed are earning very little. Our campaign against HIV/AIDS, TB and other diseases can not be
successful until we defeat enemy number one: high unemployment and
poverty for the majority of our people. Our struggle for creation of quality jobs and for job retention can not be
divorced from the struggles of the unemployed.
South African business and government must acknowledge that the
unemployment crisis is a catastrophe. And we cannot deal with a
catastrophe through text book formulae – especially when the formulae
comes from neo-liberal theories that are not meant to deal with the
unemployment crisis effectively. There can be no doubt that this approach
has already failed the unemployed and the employed workers.
For this reason, COSATU calls for a thorough going national debate on the
crisis. This should be accompanied by willingness to review the current
macro economic strategy. That strategy that must be reviewed, and not the
policies that aim to transform the apartheid heritage in our labour
markets. The cost of our mass action to the economy will be trivial if it
results in the establishment of a workable and effective economic
strategy.
We are not targeting our ANC government through this campaign. Rather, we
want a change in the business sector. It is business that has been
throwing workers into the streets since 1984.
Those who condemn our programme of action should rather look at the role
of the bosses who have been on an investment strike for two decades. It
is the bosses that are shifting their primary listing to the London Stock
Exchange. Their companies were built by the blood and sweat of South
African workers cheap labour, they now thank us by diverting their wealth
to build the economy of other countries. This is the worse statement that
can be made. We have not heard those who condemn criticizing this immoral
business act.
Still, it is true that only government that can amend section 189 of the
LRA and amend insolvency laws. It is also true that the government
employs 170 000 workers less than it did in 1994 – and that we hear daily
threats to retrench more, despite the unemployment catastrophe that
already exists.
May Day 2000 - Siyaya e FNB Stadium on the 1st of May
We are celebrating May Day with new confidence and strength.
We will use our May Day to consolidate our struggle against job losses and
against poverty. The theme for this May Day rally is: "Crush Poverty –
Create Quality Jobs!"
Unless business and government meet our demands, we must go ahead with the
National General Strike on May 10, 2000.
Africa Day: Today, elsewhere in our country and in the rest of Africa, workers are picketing in their workplaces, demonstrating their support for the OAU call that all military juntas should cease to exist by June 2000.
The African Renaissance will remain a pipe dream until Africa frees itself
from greedy soldiers who stage coups. The soldiers must go back to the
barracks and allow free and fair elections in their countries.
There will be no African Renaissance until the workers and ordinary people
in the streets lead the struggle to make this 21st century an African one.
The intellectuals have a role to play – but it is the workers and
ordinary masses of the people who make history.
COSATU calls for an end to military dictatorships in Chad, Niger, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, the Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville,
Togo, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Guinea-Bissau,
Gambia, Burundi.
We want an end to one party states, including elected dictatorships.
We remain deeply concerned at the collapse of the rule of law in Zimbabwe
and call on that government to create condition for free and fair
elections. We support the redistribution of land as part of dealing with
the imbalances created by the colonial past. We however do not support
disorderly land invasions.
We demand that:
The principle on negotiations should replace consultation. There should
be compulsory third-party intervention prior to retrenchment taking
place should the union and the employer fail to reach consensus during
their retrenchment negotiations and if the union requires this
intervention. Employers should not be allowed to retrench until this
process is complete. This process will hopefully prevent unfair and
unnecessary retrenchments.
Unions and workers must be informed timeously of any financial
difficulties being faced by the business and any possible liquidation at the
time that it is contemplated or threatened. Any application for
provisional liquidation must be served upon the union and the workers.
This application must prove that there are no alternatives to the
liquidation which would keep the business going and would save jobs.
Also, the employer must negotiate with the unions.
If the company is indeed forced to liquidate, the workers’ and employers’
contributions to medical aid and retirement funds should not form part of
the liquidated businesses’ estate. In respect of wages and other benefits,
workers should be ranked above the secured creditors.
Introduction
Reasons for the protest action
Employers should not be able to retrench workers with such
ease
The insolvency laws must be tightened to alleviate the effects of
liquidations upon workers and their financial security
Government should halt its accelerated reduction of import tariffs
In terms of international agreements the government has to reduce import tariffs within stipulated and agreed to time periods. The government has decided to accelerate the reduction of these import tariffs despite the fact that South Africa is not obliged to do so. The effect of this upon certain industries, like the textile industry, is that job losses are increased and accelerated.
Government should adhere to the time periods that South Africa is obliged to keep by virtue of its international commitments. It should furthermore institute policies that compel employers to meet South Africa’s obligations without unnecessarily increasing and accelerating job losses.
There is a lot of corruption at our border posts and harbours, allowing goods to enter the country illegally. This not only robs the government of the income from the tariffs, but adds to the destruction of our industries. There should be more effective monitoring of the borders to prevent goods from entering South Africa illegally and threatening our jobs.
Government must remain committed to the NFA
We remain opposed to any form of restructuring, including privatisation, which will result in job losses and an increase in the cost of service delivery. International experience has shown that privatisation of basic services has always resulted in an increase in cost to the poor.
We believe service delivery should remain in the hands of the state. Moreover, we will oppose any restructuring of government departments which results in workers losing their jobs.
Government must remain committed to the spirit and practice of the National Framework Agreement. There should be no unilateral restructuring and all local government development programmes should take place within the ambit of negotiating with the unions concerned.
Conclusion
COSATU remains committed to negotiations on the above issues.
However, we cannot afford a situation where workers continued to be retrenched while long drawn out negotiations are taking place. The ball is now firmly in the court of business and government. The onus is on them to respond positively to the reasonable demands put forward by labour.
This deadlock requires business and government to review their current mandates and to initiate negotiations once they have new mandates. We are looking forward to new reasonable positions from business in particular on all the above matter.
The programme of action we have outlined will be continued and built
upon until the demands are agreed to and we stop the job losses and
create new quality jobs.
