John Gomomo 23-01-08

 

John Gomomo

The Congress of South African Trade Unions has been deeply saddened to hear the news that John Gomomo, President of COSATU from 1991 to 1999, passed away yesterday, 22 January 2008, after a long and brave struggle against illness. We send our condolences to his family and share their grief at this sad time of loss.

We dip our flags in honour of one of the greatest leaders of the South African workers, who devoted his entire life to their service and will be forever remembered as a hero of the struggle for freedom, democracy and workers’ rights. The mighty workers’ movement we see today would never have been built without the dedication, commitment and hard work of people like John Gomomo.

His life reads like a history of the South African trade union movement. He led the National Automobile and Allied Workers Union (NAAWU) when he was working at Volkswagen in Uitenhage in the 1970s. This was one of the unions, organising mainly the blue-collar black workers, that led the revival of the democratic movement in 1970s and the historic 1972/3 Durban strikes.

These are also some of the unions that formed FOSATU in 1979, and took part in the four-year long unity talks that led to the creation of NUMSA, and then COSATU in December 1985. They also, with other organs of people power, created the United Democratic Front in 1983.

John Gomomo was at the heart of all these developments.

Then in 1991 he was elected to COSATU’s highest office - national president - and represented the federation and the workers of South Africa with great distinction. He spearheaded the campaign in 1995 for the Labour Relations Act and the Employment Equity Act in 1997. He graphically summed up the workers’ opposition to the government‘s Growth, Employment and Redistribution (Gear) strategy, when he described it as “the reverse gear of our society”.

After leaving COSATU, he continued to serve the people as an ANC Member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration.

John Gomomo was a great leader and servant of the trade union movement. He worked tirelessly to improve the lives of his fellow workers and all the people of South Africa. He will be very sorely missed.