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1.Statement for National Youth Day
2006
On this historic 30th anniversary of 16 June 1976 COSATU
salutes all the young people of South Africa, whose heroism and self-sacrifice
three decades ago helped pave the way for the liberation of our country.
This was the most decisive turning point in our struggle, as thousands
of our young people decided that they had put up with racism and repression
for long enough. It was time for change.
The youth of 1976 had undoubtedly been influenced by the mighty strike
wave that erupted in Durban in 1973 and which was still reverberating
around the workplaces and communities. This inspired the sons and daughters
of those workers to take forward the struggle. They set in motion a
stream of resistance that swelled over the following decades into a
mighty river of revolution.
South African workers will never forget the huge debt they owe to
the generation of 1976. They risked death, curtailed their education
and defied the might of the apartheid state so that future generations
could enjoy liberation, democracy and human rights.
Today, young people face a different struggle, which requires a similar
movement. The youth of 2006 are growing up in a very different and
far better world. Thanks to their parents' battles, they no longer
suffer the humiliation of legalised racist discrimination and abuse,
arbitrary arrest and torture by the state. They are no longer denied
the right to vote and all the other democratic rights we enjoy today.
They can vote, join a trade union and have the right to develop their
lives on the basis of ability rather than race.
Many of today's young people however cannot reap the full benefit
of the liberation victory. Despite their political emancipation, the
shocking levels of unemployment and poverty condemn thousands to a
life of economic hardship and despair.
Mass unemployment denies thousands of school leavers the chance of
a job and a career. This is a cruel waste of the skills and enthusiasm
of young people who have so much to offer society but who are denied
the opportunity to empower themselves and serve their communities.
As Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has said, youth unemployment is "horrendously
high". 70% of all the unemployed are under the age of 35. Even
using the official statistics which exclude people deemed not to be
looking for work, the unemployment rate for youths aged between 16
and 25 is 52%, compared with a national average for all ages of 26.5%.
Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana has rightly referred to a "powder
keg waiting to explode". Noting lots of protests in Africa, including
South Africa, from youths, he said: "This is an indication that
something is not right. The youth is clearly becoming restless and
creative ways should be found to keep them employed".
For many the problem of unemployment is compounded by the severe lack
of skills, inherited from the apartheid years when African learners
were deliberately deprived of access to training.
However the problem of unemployment cannot all be blamed on the lack
of skills. The ranks of the unemployed also include many who are highly
educated and qualified young people, who still struggle to find a job
and an income. Some are even tempted to take jobs overseas because
of the lack of opportunities here.
Nevertheless the underlying problem remains poor education. The Freedom
Charter demanded that "education shall be free, compulsory, universal
and equal for all children; Higher education and technical training
shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships
awarded on the basis of merit."
Despite the commendable efforts of the governments over 12 years,
that demand has not been achieved. Education still reflects the huge
inequalities of society as a whole. Schools which cater for the poorest
learners, especially in the former homelands, still have far worse
facilities than those in the predominantly white, urban suburbs.
Of the approximately one million learners who enter schools each year,
650 000, almost two thirds, leave without matric. This means that access
to higher education is still out of the question for thousands of poor,
African students. It is clearly not "open to all by means of state
allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit", but
remains a privilege for the middle-class people whose parents can afford
the fees.
Another massive challenge is the epidemic of HIV and AIDS, which has
struck down far too many people at a tragically early age. Young people
living with the virus have now been offered a lifeline, with the government
beginning the roll-out of anti-retroviral treatment in the public health
system, which will give them the chance to live for many more years.
But the rate at which ARVs are being distributed is far too slow. We
cannot rest until the programme is running at full steam in every province.
If we are to address all these challenges we must revive the June
1976 traditions of mass mobilisation, which most of today's youth have
not experienced. They face the counter-attraction of the culture of
individualism and consumerism, promoted by the media, TV and advertising,
whose inspiration comes from New York and Los Angeles rather than from
Soweto and Khayelitsha.
We urge them not to treat 16 June - National Youth Day 2006 - as just
another public holiday but to attend the Youth Day celebrations around
the country.
The best possible way to commemorate the struggles of the youth of
1976 is to mobilise the youth of today in a crusade to create jobs,
open up educational opportunities and create healthy and prosperous
communities, so that tomorrow's youth can be free from the evils which
still blight the lives of so many young people today.
Let the youth of today rededicate themselves to service to the community,
so that the youth of tomorrow can inherit the better life for all our
people, for which the youth of yesterday fought and died. We must never
let those martyrs of our struggle be forgotten
2. Cosatu supports Karen Beef strike
COSATU's Gauteng Province has given its full support to the members
of the SA Catering, Commercial and Allied Workers Union members who
are on strike at Karan Beef, the largest distributor of meat in Gauteng.
The legal strike began on 9 June 2006 after the company has refused
to negotiate or to recognise the union in the company. The workers
are demanding:
A 12% increase to all permanent staff
A R2100 per month as a minimum wage
An end to racism and racial discrimination in the company
A union recognition agreement
An end to victimization of union members
The company to employ all casuals as permanent workers.
COSATU Gauteng understands that company is now willing to negotiate
and wishes to urge them to negotiate in good faith and resolve the
issues tabled by SACCAWU.
COSATU also want to raise serious questions about the company's
relationship with the security forces. When shop stewards were arrested
on 17 May on an allegation of intimidation, a police helicopter was
used to effect the arrest. We view this as a gross waste of state
resources which are stretched to the limit, to deal with a labour
dispute, rather than the serious crime incidents that have engulfed
the country. We therefore call for a thorough investigation by the
Commissioner of Police, Jackie Selebi, as to why a police chopper
was used to arrest those members instead of a normal police vehicle.
3.Kraft SA workers on strike
About 480 FAWU members have been on a protected
strike at Kraft SA in Elandsfontein since 25 May 2006. The strike
action is centred around a wage dispute as well as working conditions.
It has also come to FAWU's attention that two casual workers were
injured on duty. A pallet apparently fell on one casual while the
other was injured by a machine. These workers have no experience
and were brought in as part of a team of scab labour from neighbouring
townships.
FAWU is utterly shocked at the multinational company's decision
to disregard South African labour laws and non-compliance with
a collective agreement about the use of casual labour during industrial
action. The two parties have an agreement that the company would
use casuals that are familiar with the type of work performed on
the plant. FAWU urges the Department of Labour to investigate speedily
into current health and safety standards at the company as well
as the exact causes of these 'accidents'.
FAWU members demand:
An eight percent wage increase whilst the company offers 5 percent;
Severance pay of four weeks versus the status quo of two weeks;
A moratorium on retrenchment; and
A night shift allowance of 25 percent versus the current 20%.
FAWU has called for a moratorium on retrenchment to give the union
time to have a proper input into such processes. As expected, the
company claims they can't entertain a moratorium. The company also
offers severance pay of three weeks for every year worked but the
catch is that it is meant for workers over the age of fifty only.
The union however refused to accept this offer, as we believe that
it boils down to discrimination based on age and will bring divisions
amongst our members.
FAWU strongly believes that the company acted irrationally and
prematurely in terms of its lockout without adhering to the 48-hour
notice as stipulated in the Labour Regulations Act. By doing so,
it becomes impossible for any probability of parties to engage
one another. Furthermore we strongly believe that we have sufficient
grounds to challenge the company's non-compliance with possible
legal action.
The Elandsfontein plant is the only production unit in South Africa.
Kraft manufactures the Royal range of baking powder, instant pudding,
etc. as well as the Manhattan range of sweets.
About 1000 FAWU members marched to the head office of Kraft Foods
SA at Woodmead on 13 June 2006. The union handed over a memorandum
detailing a list of demands. FAWU has called on the Managing Director
of the company to acknowledge receipt of the memorandum and to
respond to issues that will be contained in the memorandum. The
memorandum includes:
Management must consider its wage offer to break the current impasse
that had led to the strike;
The lockout as initiated by management has every reason to hurt
the company, thus we hope that management shall account for leading
the company to this destructive route;
Three weeks severance be implemented across regardless of age;
The company should effect good marketing principles, so as to activate
the discontinues of products and lines;
The company discontinues investing in useless, break-prone machinery;
The company must respect and extend the terms of reference of the
moratorium for retrenchment for another two years.
4. Nehawu meeting with
community
On Tuesday 13 June Nehawu held a meeting with community organisations
in Soweto to discuss the recently launched Nehawu Service Delivery
Campaign, in particular, the march to the Chris Hani-Baragwanath
hospital on 24 June, which forms part of the massive campaign agreed
on by the service delivery summit held on 21-23 April 2006.
The campaign is focused on the programme of action on service
delivery and aims to strengthen public service delivery, and at
the same time oppose efforts that undermine and weaken the capacity
of the public service to deliver services to our people at an accelerated
scale.
The demands that NEHAWU is putting across to improve public service
delivery include the following:
Increase employment in the public sector.
Improve the conditions of service of public servants.
Decentralise certain management powers to allow greater efficiency
in delivering services.
Invest more in Education and Training of public servants.
Intervene to control migration of workers.
Introduce greater career-pathing for public servants.
Strengthen, not fragment, the national health system.
Deal decisively with the scourge of HIV/Aids.
Put public services back in the hands of the public.
All public officials must disclose their business interests.
5. Limiting affirmative
active threatens to redistribute resentment - NUMSA
NUMSA is set to vigorously frustrate attempts by
another labour federation and opposition parties in Parliament
to limit affirmative action to by excluding those born after February
1990.
"One of the toughest questions facing the country," says
NUMSA, "is how to deal with enormous inequalities created
under apartheid for the past three centuries, rather than worrying
about who gets the meat and how affirmative action is poison for
others. If affirmative action is reversed, this will simply redistribute
resentment and damage the economy.
Affirmative action was put on the agenda for social and economic
change because the ANC and its tripartite alliance partners, including
COSATU, rejected the idea of anything in the new South Africa being
meat for some and poison or others. It was all about scrapping
and burying apartheid."
The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) and the Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on Labour last week welcomed proposals by made
by Tuks Afrikaanse Studente (TAS) to limit affirmative action to
those born before February 2, 1990.
FEDUSA further said it has always believed that affirmative action
should be implemented for a defined period only, and further advocated
that those who grew up with equal opportunities should be excluded
from the process.
"Our whole approach is that what is good for the majority
can and should be good for the minority. For goodness sake a black
child born in 2006 in the squatter camps still does not enjoy the
same privileges and opportunities as their white counterparts",
the NUMSA statement further explained.
"It is not just in terms of education, but also nutrition,
safe and hygienic environment, access to basic services including
flushing toilets, clean water and electricity.
"The country - rich and poor, black and white - wants peace,
prosperity and justice. Our country is, indeed, rich enough to
ensure not meat for some, poison for others, but fair nourishment
for all.
6. SADTU shocked at report
on teachers sexual behaviour
SADTU says it is shocked and deeply concerned at the findings
of the recently released report of the South African Human
Rights Commission on teachers' sexual behaviour.
"There can be no excuse for inappropriate behaviour
between teachers on school premises, nor for the exploitative
and predatory activities of some male teachers towards
female learners. The union condemns such occurrences in
the strongest terms," says the unio
It suggests a number of avenues for dealing with offenders:
-
Immediate disciplinary action by the
employer, with the ultimate sanction of dismissal
-
Laying of criminal charges with the
police - especially where statutory rape is concerned
- with the ultimate sanction
of imprisonment
-
Disciplinary proceedings through the
South African Council for Educators with the ultimate
sanction of being banned
from teaching in South Africa.
-
"As the major trade
union in the education sector, SADTU also
has a heavy responsibility
to take action:
-
We will discipline our own members who
behave inappropriately with the ultimate sanction of
loss of membership;
-
We are engaged in advocacy and training
amongst the members to identify and expose misconduct
and abuse;
-
We are calling for joint action with
all stakeholders to combat the criminals in our midst.
"As SADTU we are committed to rooting out these abuses.
We cannot stand by whilst the good work of the majority
of educators is called into question by the appalling behaviour
of a small minority."
7.Mediator's proposal
being considered to avoid national municipal wage strike
SAMWU is considering a proposal by the facilitator aimed
at averting a strike in the municipal sector that could involve
200 000 workers. Its members will be considering the following
proposal:
-
An increase of 6% effective 1 July 2006.
-
A further increase of 2% effective 1 January
2007.
-
The minimum wage to increase to R2850
and to R2907 on 1 January 2007.
-
An increase effective 1 July 2007 equal
to CPIX + 1.75%.
-
An increase effective 1 July 2008 equal
to CPIX + 1.5%.
"Every worker is struggling to make ends meet. Our
members are heavily indebted to ensure there is bread on
the table. Job grading has not happened despite an agreement
to implement new grades by January 2005. We believe that
the proposal will go some way in addressing these problems," said
SAMWU negotiator Dale Forbes.
Members are to respond to the proposal by 7 July 2006. It
they reject the proposal, it is most likely that a national
strike will ensue. The strike will be a protected strike.
Striking workers cannot be disciplined or dismissed. The
union has negotiated Minimum Service Level agreements that
will ensure that essential services are carried out for the
duration of the strike and that the community is not harmed
during the course of the strike
8.SAMWU reject attempt
to undermine retirement fund benefits
This statement is precipitated by an arrogant response from
the Chief Executive Officer of SALGA to a statement issued by
SAMWU on 31 May 2006 on the subject matter. In her statement
she agrees with SAMWU that they have misled municipalities about
the registration of the Local Government Pension Fund, (LGPF).
SAMWU says it possesses a letter from the relevant authority
of the Financial Services Board (FSB) which confirms their assertion
that the LGPF is not at all registered at the point of our investigation
and enquiry.
"How can the FSB only have to agree to register the fund
but not registering it, to conform with the legislative framework
on pension funds if any such agreement or commitment exists any
way?" asks SAMWU. We challenge SALGA to provide proof of
registration of the Local Government Pension Fund (LGPF or the
agreement the CEO is referring to. We are therefore more confident
that they won't be able to provide this in the light of her admission
to the non-registration of LGPF."
SAMWU wants to put it on record that the circular from SALGA
to all municipalities that commands all retirement funds to transfer
all members and compel new employees to join the newly created
Local Government Pension Fund (LGPF) undermines the spirit and
the letter of an existing collective agreement under the auspices
of the South African Local Government Bargaining Council which
states that "No new fund may be introduced into the Sector
and prevents the movements of members from one fund to another".
The reality is that there is a dispute on the overall framework
for retirement fund arrangements, which will determine the employer
contribution rate, compensation for moving members from defined
benefits to defined contribution funds in the Sector. We find
it strange that when SALGA is using every delaying tactic on
the book to frustrate the above process, now makes wild and unsubstantiated
allegations that "those who were opposed to the fund were
people who had benefited from the previous regimes discrimination
pension fund laws and people who did not care about local government
service delivery".
"We regard these allegations as a blatant black mail by
SALGA to stop us from exposing the criminality and deception
of their action. We want to state that the real reason for the
lowly paid workers not to join pension funds its because of starvation
wages offered by SALGA to lower paid employee, therefore it is
untrue that workers are purposely excluded in the pension funds.
It is a matter of affordability.
"We do not intend to speak on behalf of other parties however
we re-iterate our position that SALGA is not in a position to
administer the new fund that have a value of about R40 billion
after the auditor-general had rejected their financial accounts
for 2004/05 as irregular. Again the CEO of SALGA is quoted as
saying 'no member of an existing fund was being forced to transfer
to the new fund while in a circular number 11/2006 dated 12 May
2006 signed by herself, the instructions to the municipalities
are that 'all municipalities are requested to distribute this "directive":
to the Boards of Trustees and Principal Officers of existing
retirement funds in local government. Existing funds are requested
to contract the Administrator of the LGPF (Akani Retirement Fund
Administrators) to facilitate transfers of members in terms of
section 14 of the Pension Funds Act, 1956. This statement amounts
to a cheap public relations exercise the directive further says
that "the employment condition/contract should be amended
to include a clause of compulsory membership to the LGPF from
1 June 2006. This circular seriously contradicts the statement
by the CEO in the Business Report of the Star, 14 June 2006.06.15
"We stand unwaveringly by our statement released on 31
May 2006."
9. 5% wage increase
for footwear workers
Footwear workers will receive a 5% wage increase with effect
from 1 July this year.
This wage increase results from a 2-year collective agreement
concluded during the early part of last year between two employer
organisations [Southern African Footwear and Leather Industries'
Association (SAFLIA) and the Association of Small & Medium
Manufacturers of Footwear and Allied Products (ASMAP)] and
two labour unions [Southern African Clothing & Textile
Workers' Union (SACTWU) and the National Union of Leather & Allied
Workers (NULAW)].
The agreement states that footwear workers will receive a
5% wage increase with effect from 1 June 2006 should the CPIX
be less than 5% as at 1 March 2006.
According to Stats SA, the CPIX in March was 3.8%. The agreement
further provides for an increase in the shop stewards leave
from 5 days paid time-off 7 days paid. Trade union office bearers
will receive an additional 3 days' paid time of for trade union
activities.
The agreement is effective until 30 June 2007 and it covers
approximately 11 400 workers in 148 footwear companies throughout
the country.
10.Cosatu deplores
police shooting
COSATU has expressed shock at the news of yet
another serious accident at a Sasol plant, this time an explosion
at the Venko Park paraffin plant in Sasolburg and has sent
best wishes to all those injured.
The federation has called for a thorough inquiry into this
latest blast to determine the cause of the blast and whether
there was any negligence. "In particular we want to know
if any of the work at the plant had been outsourced and whether
this played any part in the accident, as it did in the Secunda
blast in 2004.
"It is just a few days since Sasol announced the launch
of a compensation fund for the victims of that accident. While
this move is welcome, we would much prefer an accident-free
safety environment at Sasol in which workers can work without
fear of death or injury."
11.SACCAWU members
fighting on two fronts
Magpie workers on strike
Workers at Magpie organised by SACCAWU are on a legal strike.
Parties have engaged each other in the CCMA to conciliate the
dispute between them but agreement could not be reached. Members
have been balloted and 94% voted in favour of a strike, which
commenced on 31 May 2006. The workers are demanding:
-
An end to casualisation and wage discrimination
-
Three weeks guaranteed 13th cheque
-
-
Company contribution to
Provident Fund
-
Workers have resolved to withdraw their labour until management
resolve to meet their demands.
The other strike is at Karan Beef, the largest distributor
of meat in Gauteng, who are embarking on a legal strike today,
9 June 2006. Parties have been engaging with each other but
the company has refused to negotiate or to recognise the union
in the company. Workers have resolved that the union should
serve a 48-hour notice to the company and this has been done.
Workers are demanding:
-
12% increase to all permanent staff
-
R2100 per month as a minimum wage
-
An
end to racism and racial discrimination
in the company
-
A union recognition agreement
-
An end
to victimization of union members
-
The company to
employ all casuals
as permanent workers.
Forward with the living wage! Forward with the struggle to
end casualisation!
12.Cosatu President
supports Palestinians struggle
Open letter in support of Canadian union's
resolution in support of the Palestinian people
To: Sid Ryan, President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees
(CUPE), Ontario
On behalf over 1.7 million South African workers organized
under the banner of COSATU I greet you in the name of worker
internationalism. It is this solidarity, since the formation
of the very first union and across space and time, often in
the face of harsh repression, that provided vital moral succour
and allowed workers to strengthen their resolve against oppression
and exploitation.
In this spirit and with great pride, I congratulate CUPE Ontario
for their historic resolution on May 27th in support of the
Palestinian people - those living under occupation and those
millions of Palestinian refugees living in the Diaspora. We
fully support your resolution.
As someone who lived in apartheid South Africa and who has
visited Palestine I say with confidence that Israel is an apartheid
state. In fact, I believe that some of the atrocities committed
against the South Africans by the erstwhile apartheid regime
in South Africa pale in comparison to those committed against
the Palestinians.
The latest outrage by the apartheid Israeli regime-the construction
of the hideous Apartheid Wall - condemned by the International
Court of Justice - extends the occupation of Palestinian lands,
disrupts the already precarious economic, social, health and
education well being of an entire people and entrenches the
Bantustanisation of Palestine.
When the governments of the world turn a blind eye to these
injustices; when they are seduced by apartheid Israel's justification
of brutality through the pretext of 'security'; when they silence
criticism of state terror through the canard of 'anti-Semitism'
- then it is time for the global workers movement to stand
firm and principled against hypocrisy and double standards.
We cannot remain silent any longer. It is time to stand in
word and in deed with the peoples of the Middle East and heed
their call to support the struggle against occupation. There
will be no peace in this region and in the world, without justice.
Despite the action of some Western governments and big business,
workers and democrats of the world including the citizens of
Canada, heeded our call when we struggled against apartheid.
Boycotts, disinvestments and sanctions against the apartheid
regime in South Africa hastened our march to democracy. Why
should it be different for Palestinians? In the face of an
intransigent, arrogant, racist and brutal Israeli state, this
strategy of isolation-particularly since the vast majority
of Palestinians support it-should be applied to Israel as well.
It is a peaceful option.
South African workers will never forget the support given
by the Israeli state to the apartheid South African regime.
In the same way we will never forget the thousands of acts
of solidarity of ordinary citizens around the world who sustained
our struggle through the boycott weapon.
COSATU supports the demand that Apartheid Israel must respect
and implement all resolutions passed by the United Nations;
that the right of return of Palestinian refugees must not be
compromised; that Israel respects the democratically elected
government of Palestine; and that Palestinian taxes collected
by Israel must be returned to the elected representatives of
Palestine unconditionally.
Those supporting the ideology of Zionism and the pro-Israeli
lobby will muster their substantial resources against you.
Despite these pressures, we ask you not to doubt for a single
moment the correctness of your just stand.
We salute the courage and vision of CUPE Ontario's leadership
and members in unanimously passing resolution 50. Your unwavering
resolve inspires us, we who lived through decades of apartheid
oppression, as it will undoubtedly inspire and endear you to
millions of Palestinian and other freedom loving people throughout
the world.
In Solidarity,
Willie Madisha, President, COSATU
13.Hamba kahle Uriah
Maleka
COSATU and the ANC are mourning the passing
on 4 June 2006 of struggle veteran Uriah Maleka. He died in
hospital having earlier suffered a mild stroke.
Uriah Maleka was a founder member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, and
served the people of this country in various capacities with
utmost dedication, respect and selflessness. As a leading full-time
activist of the SA Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), he understood
that the struggle of the workers is inseparable from that of
the broader society. He worked tirelessly to mobilise all sectors
of society to unite and confront the oppressive apartheid system.
COSATU sends its condolences to his bereaved family, friends
and comrades. The funeral will be on Saturday 10 June, at Ganarishane,
near Jane Furse, starting at 07h00.
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