Draft Resolutions for 7th National Congress

Draft Political Resolutions

Organisational | International | Socio-economic

Taking the NDR forward and laying the foundations for socialism Defining the aims of the NDR Building working class organisation Defending the leading role of the working class Strengthening and providing leadership in the Civic Movement Engagement with social partners Uprooting racism and tribalism Local government elections

Building the Alliance Functioning of the Alliance The Alliance and governance Deployment into government Building participatory democracy Eliminating corruption

Please note that draft resolutions do not necessarily represent COSATU policy until formally adopted.

1. Taking the NDR forward and laying the foundations for socialism

1.1 Defining the aims of the NDR

This Congress,

Noting

1. South Africa is no exception to capitalist globalisation, which attacks
   

1. the main gains of the NDR, that is, the incorporation of social and economic rights in our democratic constitution and the generation of new labour laws,

2. the working class directly by imposing extreme labour flexibility and unemployment, shrinking formal employment and posing political and organizational challenges to the organized working class, and

3. the social wage, leading to deepening commodification of working people’s lives, with rising costs for housing, transport, schooling, health and other government services.

2. The driving forces behind the present imperialist globalisation are the imperial states, the transnational corporations, international financial institutions (notably IMF/World Bank) united behind an ideology and strategy of neo-liberalism, which guide the "New World Order."

3. Within the forces of national democratic forces, a new black elite has arisen, benefiting directly from inclusion in big foreign and local capital, privatisation and the restructuring of the public sector to support a capitalist economy and globalisation. Aspects of neo-liberalism have emerged inside the national democratic forces.

4. Over time, many of the radical aspects of the NDR have been jettisoned, with no objective basis advanced for these shifts. This situation permits the continued domination of the South African economy by mining and finance capital.

5. To justify this shift, the argument has arisen in government and big business that
   

1. organised labour forms a labour aristocracy, which cares only about its own interests and wields too much influence on policy decisions, and

2. sacrifices by workers benefit the poorest of the poor.

Resolves

1. COSATU reaffirms that the NDR means
   

1. Participatory democracy that lets the majority of the people take part in shaping government actions, in order to break the monopoly of the former ruling class – big business and old-line government officials,

2. Transforming the economy to meet the needs of the majority and achieve greater equality in income and ownership, through
   

1. Land reform, better housing and infrastructure;

2. Broad-based skills development;

3. A higher social wage by expanding government services;

4. Stronger social ownership including through the public sector and co-operatives.

2. The NDR must prepare for socialism by lessening the power of capital in South Africa and overseas. COSATU must propose ways to break the stranglehold of mining-finance capital, including strengthening the public sector and other forms of social capital such as ownership by co-operatives, unions, small businesses, etc.

3. The strategic role of COSATU today is to maintain and heighten the confidence of the working class and organised workers in particular, since the tasks of building socialism are linked to the NDR and depend on the confidence and strength of the working class.

4. Within the Alliance, COSATU must strongly defend the leading role of the organised working class in the NDR.

COSATU must reject strongly

1. the argument that the interests of capital define the national interest,

2. the use of left rhetoric to justify a shift to the right in policy,

3. the contention that workers employed in the formal sector are a labour aristocracy,

4. attempts to divert the Federation from strongly protecting the direct interest of workers and the broader working class, and

5. the notion of that sacrifices by the poor must fund the poorest. Measures to bring about equality must focus on the overall distribution of wealth from the rich to the poor and steps to close the gap in income that is aggravated by the newly emerging elite of black business and public-sector managers.

1. COSATU must challenge the ANC, the Alliance the government to recognise the progressive and active role of organised labour, and especially the public-sector unions.

NEHAWU, SAMWU

1.2 Building working class organisation

The meeting felt that the resolution on this topic largely repeated the Central Committee resolution. It requested SADTU and SAMWU to draft something more specific to take the CC resolution forward.

1.3 Defending the leading role of the working class

This Congress,

Noting

1. Many working class organisations that were at the forefront of the struggle against racial oppression and economic exploitation no longer function effectively.

2. As a result, working class influence over change has weakened, while capital has increased its power, often claiming to act in the national interest.

Resolves:

1. COSATU must vigorously take steps to re-assert the leadership role of the working class in consolidating and advancing the NDR.

2. Priority must be given to building and strengthening all organisations of the working class, with less concentration on multi-class alliances.

3. This struggle must include opposing any steps to cut government spending and activities to the detriment of the working class as a whole.

SAMWU

1.4 Strengthening and providing leadership in the Civic Movement

Noting

1. The success of the National Democratic Revolution requires that the people of our country actively participate in the processes of formulating, implementing and monitoring policies aimed at transforming our country, and defend and consolidate the gains made since the 1994 elections.

2. The active, vibrant mobilisation of people through a civic movement is necessary to deal with the problems of the historically disadvantaged sections of the population, including women, youth, workers, urban and rural poor, unemployed, children, the aged and people with disabilities.

3. Due primarily to the exodus to government, falling funding and uncertainty about its role after apartheid, the civic movement overall has grown weaker, despite some exceptions.

Believing

The working class is the primary and leading motive force for transforming our country and therefore must be better organised in order to spearhead a popular movement.

Resolves

1. That Cosatu as well as the broader progressive movement should support efforts to strengthen civic structures and mass-based sectoral organizations, in part by deploying disciplined, able and willing cadres to drive the revitalisation of these centres of peoples power and deal with community concerns and developmental issues

2. With SANCO and SANGOCO, COSATU must
   

1. initiate a process to assess the state of organisation in the various sectors in order to identify needs and develop organisation-building strategies and priorities for action

2. identify and drive joint co-operative programmes around key socio-economic issues, and

3. organise a consultative conference of mass-based organizations and the NGO sector by the year-end to develop a concrete solidarity platform and coherent programme of action for 2001.

3. The COSATU CEC is mandated to oversee the implementation of this resolution.

NUM

1.5 Engagement with social partners

This Congress,

Noting

1. COSATU has been drawn into a broad range of forums to engage with business and government,

2. The scope and aims of these engagements are often poorly defined,

Believing

COSATU must develop a pro-active and strategy approach to engagement with the social partners,

Resolves

1. That COSATU should map out strategic objectives for Nedlac, the Millennium Labour Council and the Presidential Working Group, with the core aim of creating decent work for all, through
   

1. active industrial policies,

2. increased fixed direct investment by capital and public infrastructure investment by the state,

3. better training for workers, and

4. a more appropriate macro-economic policy.

2. COSATU should commit to increased involvement by workers in approving agreements reached in socio-economic forums, with ballots of the entire membership as one mechanism where appropriate.

SACTWU

1.6 Uprooting racism and tribalism

This Congress,

Noting

1. The progressive labour movement in general and Cosatu in particular played an important role in the liberation of our country and continues to participate actively in shaping our society to achieve the strategic objective of a united, non-sexist, non-racial democracy.

2. One of Cosatu’s founding principles is non-racialism and worker solidarity.

3. As a country, whilst we are beginning to address the problems of past racism, the majority of our people in the country live in abject poverty and work under slave conditions.

4. South Africa is a diverse country with many different cultures because of the past; we acknowledge the enormous task of not only government but of society as a whole to begin to change the mindset of the people.

5. The deep-rooted problems of racism and tribalism are today making the road to building a truly non-racial society much more difficult.

6. When elections are looming, some elements within our ranks bring this issue to the fore on a much higher level with devastating effects in the pursuance of personal interest and as a result performance and ability is ignored.

Further noting

South Africa will be hosting the UN World Conference against Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in 2001.

Resolves

1. We should develop a coherent national public campaign against racism and tribalism.

2. Cosatu through its affiliates, regions and locals must embark on a systematic and aggressive campaign to educate our members on the importance of non-racial unity and worker solidarity. This campaign must create awareness of the demon of racism and its manifestation at a socio-economic and cultural level.

3. Our recruitment and organising campaigns must intensify and build worker solidarity across racial lines. This must help deepen understanding amongst all South Africans of our history, the nature and manifestations of racism, with the aim of building class-consciousness on the need for workers to unite. This will contribute to the deracialisation of the working class and the demise of racially based trade unionism.

4. COSATU must ensure that every organised workplace has a copy of the Employment Equity Act, that members understand it and are able to exercise their rights and responsibilities of the law.

5. Every union structure should have the issue of eliminating racism on its agenda. Its programme of action must focus on implementing an Anti-Racism Audit for engagement with management.

6. Mass media aimed at reinforcing our values of dignity, respect and non-racialism must be produced and distributed through our locals and branches.

7. The Federation must develop a dynamic relationship with organizations and institutions on issues of racism, and establish forums with other organs of civil society organisations to debate and campaign against racism leading up to and after the UN World Conference.

NUM

1.7 Local government elections

Note: Following the meeting on Monday, August 14, we received a further resolution from SAMWU. In contrast to the original Ceppwawu resolutions, it makes support for the ANC contingent on the nature of the elections manifesto. In the version here, therefore, resolutions 1 and 3 are contradictory.

This Congress,

Noting

1. That the second local government elections in November, for the so-called "final stage" of local government, represent an advance to new and more democratic structures.

2. These democratic advances are threatened by the promotion of public-private partnerships, privatisation and the rest of the neo-liberal ideology that promotes forms of service delivery accountable to the market rather than citizens and users.

3. There has been a wide scale lack of accountability by municipal councillors generally.

4. Our experience with the deployment of shop stewards and worker leaders to local government in the first election has been predominantly negative, since many used the opportunity to promote their own business interests.

5. In far too many cases they have been quick to adopt anti-worker stances and shown a distorted concern with their own remuneration and education and training rather than that of municipal workers or the unemployed.

Believing,

It nevertheless remains vital that we assert working class control over local government.

Resolves

1. To support, mobilise and canvas for an ANC victory in the coming local government elections, and make human and financial resources available to that end.

2. COSATU will establish internal co-ordinating structures and a liaison with the Alliance structures at all levels.

3. COSATU will support the ANC to the extent that the elections manifesto ensures that:
   

1. restructuring of local government supports the interests of the working class, both in their communities and as employees, by strengthening the public sector, ensuring public delivery of core services, and protecting and creating quality employment,

2. subsidies to local government are sufficient to ensure the extension of improvement of municipal services to historically disadvantaged communities throughout the country, and

3. local government forms a keystone of participatory democracy.

4. All affiliates should identify working class leaders in their unions or the community who can be deployed to take up councillor roles.

5. The CEC must develop a declaration for working class councillors to guide them as to what COSATU expects of such leaders, including
   

1. to uphold the interest of the working class and the poor,

2. maintain strong links with their wards and with local COSATU and affiliate structures, and

3. not become involved in business initiatives with local or international capital.

6. COSATU members must be rigorous in only supporting those that agree to nomination as ANC councillors on the basis that they will resist moves to privatise municipal services and assert the public service delivery of services as their objective.

7. Where work as councillors is part time and compensated by an allowance, working-class councillors must retain employment in their workplace. COSATU must take steps to ensure these councillors have time off to fulfil their duties.

8. Where work as councillors is fulltime, councillors must be prevented from involvement in business enterprises as a sideline.

9. COSATU must put in place mechanisms through its local structures to monitor the performance of working class councillors and expose those who breach COSATU’s principles, who are unaccountable or corrupt.

SAMWU, CEPPWAWU

2. Building the Alliance

2.1 Functioning of the Alliance

This Congress,

Noting

1. The failure to implement Alliance decisions and programmes, which reduces the Alliance to little more than electoral machine.

2. The apparent centralisation of power with the potential to entrench the politics of patronage and to stifle debate within Alliance structures.

3. The Declaration of the ANC NGC in July 2000 and the Draft Report of the Commissions on Programme of Action of the ANC NGC in July 2000, which called for stronger participatory democracy, greater consultation on policy issues within the ANC and the Alliance, and a research project to assess economic policies amongst others in terms of their impact on employment and the nature of employment,

Believing

1. The strategic alliance with the ANC and the SACP should be maintained.

2. In the spirit of the NGC declaration, COSATU cannot act as a rubber stamp for government policy.

3. All partners to the Alliance are equal and should be treated with respect.

4. The working class is the primary motive force for fundamental social transformation in our NDR.

Resolves

1. In order to fulfil the NDR, the Alliance must qualitatively change its operations by
   

1. implementing the agreement to establish a strong Alliance political centre that mobilises forces both in and outside government to assert leadership over the process of transformation, as well as other agreements aimed at making the Alliance more effective, and

2. conducting a major review of the operations of the Alliance.

2. COSATU must strengthen the Alliance by
   

1. reaffirming the declaration and resolution of the 1999 Special National Congress to strengthen the Alliance at all levels, and

2. embarking as the Federation and individual affiliates on a campaign to recruit individual union members to the ANC and SACP in order to strengthen and revitalise the democratic movement through mass participation, and to reinforce the working class orientation of the Alliance.

SACTWU, SADTU, NEHAWU, CEPPWAWU

2.2 The Alliance and governance

This Congress,

Noting

1. The shift in responsibility for policy formulation from the structures of the ANC as a party to the ANC in government, and in particular to the Ministry of Finance.

2. That this change resulted in marginalisation of ANC structures both in Parliament and the country as a whole, and of Alliance structures, as demonstrated amongst others by GEAR, inflation targeting and privatisation.

3. The failure of government Ministers to consult meaningfully on policy issues with ANC and Alliance structures and stakeholders.

4. The tendency for the restrictive fiscal policy to drive government policy.

Resolves

1. To strengthen Alliance control over policymaking, by
   

1. Expanding the capacity of the Federation and affiliates for research, policy formulation and monitoring, through training and resource allocation.

2. Calling on the ANC and the Alliance to establish and utilise capacity for research, policy formulation and monitoring outside of government structures.

3. Calling on the Alliance to establish and utilise structures and forums to debate and monitor policy.

2. The Alliance political centre must

1. develop a joint programme to ensure transformation and economic development,

2. discuss and reach principled agreement on all major policies, including economic policies, prior to finalisation in government,

3. ensure that Alliance cadres in government interact with ANC structures and policy-making, so that they remain in touch with the aims of the movement, and

4. provide Ministers with political advisors charged with overseeing the development, implementation and monitoring of policy, with sufficient resources to achieve these aims.

NEHAWU, SADTU

2.3 Deployment into government

This Congress,

Noting

1. Deployment into government, including as officials, does not adequately consider the effect of losing cadre on the Alliance partners.

2. Decisions on deployment are often left to recruitment and choices by individuals, which often has a negative effect on organised labour and leads to unconstructive competition for posts, conflict, careerism and opportunism.

3. At all levels, structures outside of government have collapsed because leaders are deployed into government without adequate planning for replacement.

Believing

1. Deployment of cadre into government at all levels is needed to change the character of the state and build working-class leadership.

2. Deployment must, however, be carefully managed to avoid harming organisations and to ensure that cadre are effective within state structures.

Resolves

1. Deployment must take into consideration organisational needs of the Alliance partners.

2. Deployment must be a collective decision, and not left to individuals. The Alliance must develop policies and procedures that limit patronage by curbing the power of individual leaders to decide on employment and promotion of employees.

3. With the Alliance partners, COSATU must develop a strategy, criteria and procedures for deployment.

SADTU

3. Building participatory democracy

This Congress,

Noting

Participatory democracy is critical to breaking the hold of big capital and old-line officials on the state.

Resolves

1. the Alliance must develop guidelines to shape the process of policy development throughout government in order to ensure adequate consultation.

2. COSATU demands
   

1. Systems and structures that ensure greater participation at all levels of government, with adequate resources and timeframes, including stronger outreach capacity for Parliament.

2. In the public service, that departmental chambers negotiate policy with organised labour.

3. The development of less hierarchical, more open management structures, with training for middle management on government policy, human resources management in a multi-cultural environment and strategic planning.

4. Government departments must publish their management plans for comment before implementation.

5. In drafting policies and laws, government departments must involve ANC study group members in Parliament and the provincial legislatures.

6. Legislatures must have additional resources to monitor policy development and implementation, and to amend the budget.

NEHAWU

4. Eliminating corruption

Noting,

Our democracy inherited a system that was permeated with corruption, as a result of oppressive systems, secrecy and lack of accountability.

Resolves

1. Any person applying for a post in government should be assessed on their track record and understanding of government policy, not just their formal qualifications.

2. Legislation should be introduced to prevent conflict of interest, where someone can leave the public sector to take a position on a private company with contracts in the government, and senior officials must declare their assets and investments on an annual basis.

3. Greater openness and accountability must help control corruption.

4. Outsourcing, which is one of the prime areas of corruption, must be dealt with in the public-sector summit.

5. COSATU should take a lead in addressing corruption, and call a conference to discuss measures against corruption.

NEHAWU, SASAWU

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