Cosatu FS & NC PEC report 07-08-07

 

COSATU FS/NC Provincial Executive Committee Statement
Released 7 August 2007

COSATU Free State Northern Cape 3rd Executive Committee Meeting was held in Bloemfontein on the 4-5 August 2007. The meeting discussed and debated number of issues from organisational level, political level and socio economic. Amongst those discussed the following are cited:

1. Organisational

1.1 Recruitment

The PEC noted with satisfaction that despite job losses, particularly in the clothing and textile sector of the economy, affiliates were continuing to recruit more members into the federation in line with the 9th National Congress decision on recruitment. The meeting agreed that this area of work shall be intensified in the coming months as it remains the lifeblood of any trade union movement.

1.2 Plight of the farm workers

The meeting received a report about the case against the farmer who chained two young girls in Fouriesburg. The case, which was to be heard in court on 2 August 2007, was again postponed. The meeting expressed its disappointment and anger in the manner in which the allocated judge to hear this case was handling the case. The PEC rejected the reasons for the postponement on the grounds that the judge case was not available to hear the case. The meeting felt that the attitude of the judge confirmed the long standing point raised by the federation that our judiciary has not been transformed and that is why such cases which affect our people will not be viewed in the serious light they deserved. A decision was taken that our objection to the continuous postponement of the case must be raised with the relevant minister urgently.

2. Socio Economic

2.1 Department of Education Recovery Plan

The meeting assessed the Public Sector strike and agreed that the strike was indeed successful and historic. The unions were commended for their efforts in ensuring that the strike was a huge success. The meeting discussed the need for the recovery plan in education to try and assist students in their studies. SADTU briefed the meeting that they were supposed to have held a meeting with the Free State Department of Education around the recovery plan. The PEC called on the FS Department of education to ensure that the plan is in place and that teachers needed to be compensated for the work that they would be doing in assisting our children.

3. Politically

The meeting also discussed the need to ensure that COSATU members were members of the SACP and the ANC, more importantly in the current conjuncture and agreed that those must take an active role in all alliance structures. The meeting also congratulated all members of the federation who were part of the 12th national congress of the SACP.

In the light of the coming ANC National Conference in December 2007, the PEC discussed a pool of names of cadres, who are sympathetic to the workers' cause, to be supported during the nomination process. The provincial leadership of the federation will soon be meeting with all alliance structures and COSATU locals to discuss this pool of names further.

Statement made by the COSATU Provincial Office Bearers in the Free State and Northern Cape.

Contact: Sam Mashinini, Provincial Secretary FS/NC, 082 563 6954