Statement on COSATU Central Executive Committee meeting, 26 April
2007
The Congress of South African Trade Unions held a special, extended
meeting of its Central Executive Committee from 23-25 April.
The meeting was attended by the senior leaders of its affiliates
as well as by members of the Education and Gender sub committees
of the CEC. Its primary purpose was to debate COSATU's responses
to the draft policy documents for the forthcoming policy conference
of the African National Congress.
COSATU was pleased to welcome to the meeting the Secretary General
of the African National Congress, Kgalema Motlanthe, the Deputy
General Secretary of the South African Communist Party, Jeremy
Cronin, Deputy Minister of Finance, Jabu Moleketi, and his Excellency
the Ambassador of Palestine, Ali Halimeh.
We are taking very seriously the task of engaging robustly with
the ANC draft policy documents. The special CEC was a third major
forum where COSATU has debated these documents. COSATU intends
to use the chance provided by the ANC's policy and national conferences
to campaign for policies that will advance the interests of the
workers and the poor. We will judge the ANC's 13 draft policy
documents by the degree to which they promise real improvements
in the lives of the majority, and how well they advance the demands
of the Freedom Charter and South Africa's national democratic
revolution.
It is public knowledge that COSATU is not happy with the course
of economic transformation. We have been on the streets protesting
against job losses and for job creation and against poverty since
1999 when we held the first general strike. We have concluded
that most of the benefits from economic transformation went to
business and not labour in the first decade of freedom. Unemployment
is stubbornly at about 40%, poverty continues to dehumanise about
half of our population, inequalities have increased, workers'
wages have stagnated, leading to the apartheid wage gap increasing
even more. Casualisation of labour is on the rise, with the more
secure, better paying jobs being replaced by insecure and poor
paying jobs.
To COSATU this situation facing the primary motive force our revolution
demands a change in economic and social policies. The country
cannot continue to be made to believe that all is well in the
economy when only white monopoly capital is the primary benefactor.
The situation where the doctor continues to pronounce that the
operation has been successful when the patient is perpetually
living on an oxygen machine in the ICU must change.
We are issuing to you today an article published in today's Mail & Guardian
in response to the ANC's draft discussion document on Strategy
and Tactics. COSATU's responses to the other draft discussion documents,
which were discussed at the CEC, are being finalised and will be
issued to the public over the next two weeks.
We are also issuing COSATU's paper on the leadership challenge
(attached), which has been produced in response to a resolution
from the 9th National Congress, which declared that COSATU has
a class interest in who leads the ANC and what policy direction
the ANC and the state develops and pursues. The first Central
Committee after the congress has been given a responsibility
to "identify leadership which can best pursue a programme
in the interests of the working class".
The paper puts forward a framework to interpret the resolution,
clarify why workers should take an interest in this matter and
lay down principles and criteria for an ANC leadership collective.
The CEC declared its solidarity with two groups of workers who
are presently on the front line of the class struggle in pursuance
of our Living Wage Campaign.
1. COSATU supports the call by its affiliates in the public service
for workers to prepare for a protracted strike should the second
round of the CCMA-facilitated mediation fail to yield results.
The demands of the public sector workers are totally justified.
Government has promised to improve wages of police, health workers
and educators. But now that it must walk the talk it is dragging
its feet and reneging by offering a paltry 6%.
2. The CEC also reaffirmed its backing for the 2000 workers employed
by Blue Ribbon Bakeries, a subsidiary of Premier Foods, who have
been on strike since 5 March in support of a legitimate demand
for a centralised bargaining arrangement. The employers are being
extremely intransigent, reneging on an agreement which could
have resolved the dispute. We are mobilising our members behind
the call for a boycott of all Premier products, which include
Iwisa and Impala maize meal, Invicta samp, Snowflake flour range
and particularly Blue Ribbon bread. The COSATU CEC called for
a total consumer boycott of all the products of the company.
In the next few days we shall be approaching our Alliance partners
and the rest of the civil society formations to join us as we
pledge more active solidarity in support of the just demands
of the workers.
The CEC also discussed the following forthcoming historical events.
May Day celebrations
COSATU has organised 22 rallies across the country, with the main
national event in Secunda, Mpumalanga. We regret to advise that
President Thabo Mbeki will no longer join the COSATU President
and SACP General Secretary in the main rally due to other government
pressures. Membathisi Mdladlana, Minister of Labour and a member
of the ANC's NEC, will replace the President. All other ANC and
government leaders are however deployed. This will include the
ANC Deputy President Jacob Zuma, who will join the COSATU General
Secretary in the Koster, North West, provincial rally. (See attached
statement for details). The theme this year will be: "Create
quality jobs; stop poverty and inequalities now!" plus the
following sub themes:
a.. Defend workers' rights; defend human rights;
b.. Unite against the abuse of farm workers;
c.. A living wage for all;
d.. Intensify struggle against HIV/Aids;
e.. Stop casualisation and subcontracting - Say NO to labour broking.
7 May marks the 20th anniversary of 1987 bombing of COSATU House. COSATU will
be hosting a workshop to commemorate this historic date. Many young workers
and the general public will never appreciate the sacrifices made by the working
class and why they are recognised as the primary force of the struggle until
they are exposed to countless attacks launched by the illegal apartheid regime
on trade unions and other working class formations. We have invited Jay Naidoo,
COSATU's founding General Secretary, and Peter Harris, a prominent COSATU lawyer
at the time, to come and share with the public the extent of the brutality
of the apartheid government which workers played a leading role in defeating.
COSATU members will hold a mass picket at the Constitutional Court
on 8 May which will be day when the court hears the case of Rustenberg
Platinum v CCMA. This case has huge implications for workers,
their trade unions and the relationship between workers and the
employers. COSATU lawyers will argue that the Supreme Court of
Appeal erred in ruling that the CCMA should no longer decide
on the merits of whether workers have been dismissed fairly or
unfairly.
4 June 2007 is the 40th anniversary of Israeli occupation of Palestine.
COSATU will be joining the Alliance and civil society organisations
in marking this dark day. COSATU joins all other internationalists
in calling for demonstrations throughout the month of June to
mark this occupation. We shall be stepping up the campaign for
a boycott of all Israeli goods and services. We call on the ANC
conference to support growing international calls for the total
isolation of the Israeli regime, including imposition of sanctions.
