Special Cosatu Tenth Anniversary Edition

Ten years of workers' unity and struggle

Contents

Editorial

Messages of support

• ANC president Nelson Mandela
• SACP general secretary Charles Nqakula

A giant has arisen

• Cosatu's launch is a working class victory
• A Lion Has Been Born

The Cosatu Logo

Cosatu's Founding Unions

Years of forging unity

• Four years of painstaking talks lead to the launch

One union, one industry

• Mergers have changed the face of Cosatu

Changing with the times

• Over the last 10 years, Cosatu's character has changed

Leaders look back

• Jay Naidoo and Sydney Mufamadi reflect on their Cosatu years

A challenge from the past

• Cosatu's living wage campaign made a real difference to workers

Allies in the community

• Cosatu's dynamic relationship with communities

Campaigns

• United against the apartheid LRA
• May Day is ours
• A charter of workers demands
• Striking baack - the anti-VAT campaign

The iron fist

• A decade of attempts to smash Cosatu

The war on Natal's workers

• The violence in Natal and its affect on unions

Cosatu affiliates

• Profiles of the 19 affiliates that make up the federation

Strategic unionism

• Cosatu and the politics of engagement

No women no cry

• The women's struggle in Cosatu

Negotiations, elections and the RDP

• How Cosatu helped transform SA

Economic policy

• Jobs a priority in growth through redistribution

Solidarity without borders

• No longer just a recipient of international trade union solidarity

Safety is a daily concern

• Health and safety on the rise on union agendas

How Cosatu organises

• The federation's working principles have helped make it a giant

Meeting the New Challenges

• How to maintain a quality national centre

Sting like a bee ...

• The federation needs new organisation to pack strategic punches

New challenges

• Priorities as Cosatu enters its second decade

Elijah Barayi's memory lives on

• Cosatu's first president brought with him years of struggle

Ten fighting years

• A chronology of Cosatu's first decade

Editorial

In 1982 the leadership of unions and federations participating in unity talks nearly committed political suicide by proclaiming: "there is no basis for the formation of a federation of all unions represented at this stage. No further meeting is planned." Fortunately, taking into account the challenges faced by the labour movement, society and the need to defend ourselves against big business and the apartheid regime, further meetings took place and Cosatu was eventually formed. It is no exaggeration to point out that, since the lauch, our power and influence has been felt by both enemy and supporters alike.

Our pressure was immediately felt at a political, social and economic level. The regime had to contend, not only with the UDF and its affiliates, the revolutionary alliance of the ANC, SACP and Sactu, but also with a powerful trade union movement which combined political issues with bread and butter issues. Employers who had relied on weak organisation to exploit and oppress workers were suddenly hit by waves of strikes by workers who were pursuing a living wage. No sector was left untouched. The Chamber of Mines, South African Railways, OK Bazaars, Pick and Pay, and many more tasted our power. Despite a government sympathetic to business, the brutality of the police and state of emergency powers, we emerged victorious.

The mass dismissal by the Chamber of Mines was meant to destroy the NUM and Cosatu. The fact that NUM remains the biggest union in our country (it is in fact bigger than Fedsal and Nactu) is evidence of our power to fight and to survive.

Key Gains

The federation developed positions which contributed to, among others, the following:

• May Day as a paid holiday;
• June 16 and March 21 as paid holidays in many workplaces and industries;
• Parental rights for both men and women;
• The unbanning of, among others, the ANC and the SACP
• The release of political prisoners
• Through various actions, we helped to resolve the Codesa deadlock and thereby bring about the present dispensation;
• The RDP, which became the ANC's election platform, has its origins in Cosatu;
• Through mass mobilisation, we redirected the VAT campaign and the Labour Relations Amendment Act of 1988;
• Through resilience we stand a good chance of having a favourable law on health and safety in the mines, in particular, and at all workplaces in general;
• The cherry on the cake is, of course, the LRA as recently concluded in Nedlac and passed by parliament.

While the list of gains is long and not restricted to what is outlined above, there were indeed areas of weakness where we could have done better.

Our living wage campaign was at times erratic and uncoordinated. We often did not link organisation with campaigns. The develoment of women leadership and education are but some of the issues that needs more attention. While affiliates agreed to release individuals for parliament, we all failed to foresee that some of our people would also join the new public service.

We however can not live in the past. We have to look ahead. The new political situation has thrown up a host of new areas which we should begin to grapple with. What relationship should Cosatu have with the new government as well as the ANC? There is a tendency to conflate the two into one. We have, in my view, underutilised the relationship that we have with the ANC to influence policy formulation.

RDP implementation is another area of contest. A successful implementation of the RDP will alleviate hunger, poverty, unemployment, etc. Basic necessities such as water, electricity, telecommunications, housing and transport are key to real development.

As the democratisation process gains momentum, big business is pushing the government and the ANC to adopt economic policies which will consolidate capital at the expense of workers. This we cannot allow. As Cosatu, we stand for economic growth, fiscal discipline, investment, etc. Our approach must be informed by the need for job preservation, job creation, provision of housing, water, electricity and telecommunications. The view that first growth, then distribution, should be rejected. Our call is for growth through distribution.

As we move forward, we must look at our weaknesses and strengths. We must refocus on ensuring effective mandates, workers control, mass mobilisation, etc.

Tribute

I wish to pay tribute to comrades whose names do not often appear alongside those who helped bring about a new federation. People like John Erntzen, Dave Lewis, Jan Theron and a host of other revolutionary alliance's underground cadres. We should also remember those who fell in the course of struggle. Workers who were killed or injured during strikes, marches and violence by vigilantes in homes, shops, factories and farms. We must also create a special place for Elijah Barayi, Jabulile Ndlovu, Sam Ntambane and others.

Sam Shilowa, Cosatu general secretary