Jacob Zuma speaks to the Sactwu Congress 09-08-07

 

ADDRESS BY ANC DEPUTY PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA AT THE 10TH NATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN CLOTHING & TEXTILE WORKERS' UNION (SACTWU)

9 AUGUST 2007

EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERED

SACTWU Deputy President Cde Violet Seboni;
General Secretary Cde Ebrahim Patel;
Minister of Trade and Industry, Cde Mandisi Mpahlwa;
Leaders, delegates and guests.

Thank you for the opportunity to make some remarks at this 10th National Congress of SACTWU, one of our country's most pioneering and innovative unions. Tragically, this congress takes place in the absence of the SACTWU President John Zikhali who lost his life in a car accident in April last year. Let me take this opportunity to express my condolences to the leadership and members of SACTWU for the loss of an outstanding leader and cadre of the workers.

Comrades, you are holding your congress at the most challenging time for the trade union movement in the world in general and the textile industry in particular. Among other things, you are therefore expected to look back from the time of your last congress and evaluate the progress you have made in implementing the decisions that were taken then and learn from the successful implementation of these decisions. If there were some that you did not implement, take lessons as to what made you not succeed. You have to take new resolutions to take the union forward, and also assess what has been the growth of the union in the face of challenges that include among others the struggle for better working conditions, living wages, better health care, gender equality and the appropriate benefits for workers.

Throughout the world and in our country, the clothing and textile industry is one of those which are made up predominantly of women, relatively speaking. It is therefore fitting that this important congress, which will deal with, among other things, advancing the interests of the workers of this industry, begins on National Women's Day. It is, in the main, the daily toil of women which keep the wheels of the clothing and textile industry turning. We should also be mindful of the fact that in addition to their contribution to the economy, many of these women go home after a hard days' work to nurture their families and do household chores.
Therefore, on this day we should celebrate the role the women play in our homes, our workplaces, our communities and our country, weaving together the fabric of our society.

The textile industry is vital to the country's economy in general but more particularly the economies of KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, the Free State and the Eastern Cape. It employs more than 200 000 people both formally and informally, and thus provides sustainable livelihood for thousands of households. Experience has shown us that the sector can absorb large numbers of unemployed people and is therefore vital to South Africa's anti-poverty campaign.

Your congress theme: "Modernise, Innovate and Create Decent Jobs" aptly captures the challenges that face SACTWU and the textile industry in general. Over the past few years, SACTWU has made tremendous strides in promoting the industry, expanding its role beyond collective bargaining. You have embarked on programmes for skills development in the workplace, fashion promotion and AIDS education and treatment.
SACTWU has raised funds amounting to several million rands which are spent on its Fashion Festivals and the largest union-based HIV and AIDS programme.

Through these programmes, SACTWU is adapting and diversifying the traditional role of trade unions, thereby developing new, innovative models of trade unionism. These kinds of programmes need to be expanded and encouraged as they strengthen the industry and its workers.

Perhaps SACTWU's most important achievement over the past few years has been its role and participation in curbing the haemorrhaging of jobs in the textile industry.

Since the phase-out of the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing at the end of 2004, the clothing and textile industry the world over has been the subject of major changes in the liberalisation of production and trade.

The changes in production have resulted in factories closing down in our country as the production shifted off-shore to countries in South East Asia. The finished goods are now imported in huge volumes and are sold into our domestic market at more or less the same prices as before.

The result has been the loss of thousand of jobs in our country, the broader Southern African region and developing countries in general, yet the profits reported by retailers and importers are as high as ever.

The loss of jobs in our country has been particularly hard to bear as most of the retrenched workers are women. The jobs lost have been difficult to replace. If you walk in towns like Qwa Qwa, Isithebe, and the industrial centres of Salt River and Mobeni the tragedy of the situation is clear for all to see. What was once a hive of activity are now barren factories with workers and women in particular on the side-walks begging.

There is now what the ILO describes as "a race to the gutter" as workers are forced to accept less and less in wages and benefits and if they do not, production shifts to even poorer countries. This race to the bottom puts workers in South Africa in competition with workers in South East Asia.

As a result, clothing workers all across the world are working harder and getting poorer. This is one of the challenges of globalisation - put differently the bitter fruit of globalisation with regards to the workers. This means the employers can easily exploit workers in one part of the globe at the direct expense of workers in another part of the globe. This is a challenge which needs the collective effort of all workers of the world to address and overcome, because to the workers, it is not a matter of economic statistics but a question of life and death.

While the WTO Agreement was phased out ostensibly to promote "free trade", the reality in the marketplace tells a different story. Workers in different countries still compete with each other to sell their labour but for less pay.

The ANC government, our government, has recognised that we need to protect and defend the clothing and textile workers, and stop this "race to the gutter". In order to assist the industry, there is a need to defend our market.

In this matter SACTWU, has taken the lead. Through its General Secretary Ebrahim Patel, it participated in producing the paper "The Clothing Action Plan", which set out interventions to rescue the textile industry. This paper was consequently accepted by the federation COSATU and the ANC as the basis of policy.

To its credit, the leadership of SACTWU has rejected the concept of mindless competition among workers of the world. Instead it has promoted the idea that we can, and must, develop our capacity and capability as a producer.

SACTWU has also in difficult times defended the rights of workers. You were right to say that there should be no trade-off between worker rights and a job that pays a living wage.

It is not an answer to say that because workers in South East Asia are exploited by working conditions that border on slavery, we too should accept exploitation in order to keep our jobs.

SACTWU has mobilised all role players in the industry: the workers, the retailers, manufacturers and the government too, to develop an industry plan of action. The model developed by SACTWU is perhaps useful for other sectors of the economy to examine as they could be confronted with similar challenges.

The time has come for all of us to unite and defend our market against unfair competition and unfair trade. Further job losses cannot be tolerated. Therefore the ANC government has made an active intervention to respond to the needs of the industry. The government has adopted a number of measures in consultation with all the role players, the most important of which was to limit the importation of clothing and stamp out dumping.

The Minister of Trade and Industry will perhaps want to spend more time on this subject. It is however important for me to say that we in the ANC acknowledge the suffering of clothing workers and the clothing and textile industry in general.

In this context, our recent Policy Conference took important decisions supporting a more interventionist role for government to combat the challenges of unemployment and poverty. We also decided that there is a need for a state-led industrial policy that will help restructure our economy and move it towards labour-intensive sectors that can create mass employment.

These decisions reflect that the ANC is able to adapt and keep in step with the realities on the ground while remaining committed to its revolutionary goal for a better life for all. The onus is on all of us now to develop these resolutions for practical and strategic implementation. The sooner we act, the sooner we can break the stranglehold of poverty and unemployment.

This is one of the tasks of the Alliance, which remains the most strategic political entity in the country for the advancement of our democracy which has to be people user-friendly. In this context, I must express my happiness on the positions taken by all three Alliance partners with regards to the debates that were raging about the Alliance's future. All three Alliance partners in their congresses and conferences have taken clear and firm positions that the Alliance is here to stay and has to be defended and strengthened, given the fact that it is one of the most important and unique political entities of our time.

As you hold your congress today, you should also bear in mind that like all other revolutions which usually face challenges after a decade of democracy, our own revolution too is faced with challenges. What determines whether the revolution succeeds or fails at defending itself is the strength of the forces of revolution which is gauged in terms of their size, their political and theoretical clarity and their commitment to guarding that revolution. Whether we are aware of it or not, our revolution is certainly going through that process and facing complex challenges.

We as workers should be aware that the failure of the revolution has direct and fundamental consequences for the workers and the poor. To other classes and structures, the consequences of a failed revolution would just be bruises and surface wounds, whilst others would see this as a success. This means therefore that the task of defending our revolution and our democracy falls more squarely on the shoulders of the organised working class to lead the entire working class and the poor.

Over the next three days, you will be dealing with issues critical to the sustainability and progress of your union and your industry. I am also certain that as you deliberate over these important matters, you will also bear in mind the challenges facing our revolution and our democracy, and that you will take a broad look at how to improve the lives of the people of our country generally and workers in particular. That is the essence of participatory democracy and we must take every opportunity possible to debate issues that affect our lives.

I wish you well during you congress and we look forward to outcomes that will entrench your role as a trade union trend-setter.

I thank you.

Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets
Braamfontein, 2017

P.O.Box 1019
Johannesburg, 2000
SOUTH AFRICA

Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24
Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940/ 086 603 9667
Cell: 0828217456
E-Mail: patr...@cosatu.org.za