Volume 5 No.6 - December 1996 / January 1997
In brief
COSATU in talks with the SACP
Ambitious plans for union education
COSATU regional conferences
Progress in parliament
"The outcome of the revolution depends on whether the working class will play the part of a subsidiary to the bourgeoisie, a subsidiary that is powerful in the force of its onslaught against the autocracy, but impotent politically, or whether it will play the part of the leader of the people's revolution." - Lenin
As 1996 drew to a close, a number of discussion documents emerged from within the ranks of the national liberation movement. All of these documents (by the ANC YL, SACP, ANC and COSATU) have one thing in common - a desire to outline who we are, what we are about, what our role is as the Alliance, in government, and the relationship between governance, transformation of society and mass struggles. They are also an attempt to draw up a programme of implementation and engagement in a manner that places the goal of national liberation at the fore. The challenge to all of us is to emerge with an approach which will give political leadership at this point in time, consolidate democracy and transformation, emerge with an implementable macro-economic strategy which can eliminate poverty and unemployment; make it possible for people to have easy access to water, electricity, telecommunications, health and education; and build a strong ANC, SACP, COSATU and the rest of the progressive forces.
As organised workers and activists of the movement, we have a responsibility to ensure that our struggle is not misappropriated by capital and all of those who have always been opposed to the Alliance. We all have a responsibility to support positive and progressive efforts of the government and individual ministers. Comrade Nkosazana Zuma has come under immense pressure and attack from the press, the pharmaceutical industry and doctors. Leaving aside the issue of the Sarafina II Aids play, most if not all of the attacks have been aimed at ensuring that she does not introduce radical changes to the health system in a manner that benefits the working class. We cannot leave her alone to fight our battles. She needs the Alliance to mobilise society behind her proposals, including National Health Insurance.
The same goes for the national crime prevention strategy; new education act; implementation of the LRA; health and safety on the mines and all workplaces; and Derek Hanekom's resolve to protect farm workers from evictions. There has been a deafening silence from the Alliance as the comrades responsible for these have come under pressure from the opposition and right-wingers under the guise of democracy. We should introduce a procedure to honour the best minister - based on implementation of policy based on RDP objectives.
Most of this year was spent discussing how best to build a strong COSATU. Several resolutions were adopted. There have however been very few efforts to help rebuild COSATU locals and regions. Organising in the informal sector, rural areas and small dorpies is still at an infant stage. Of the campaigns and activities that were successfully carried out, there was too much reliance on COSATU's national and regional office bearers with very little mobilisation of affiliates. This obviously varies from affiliate to affiliate. We need to find a connection between affiliate work and those that are federation related. There are affiliates who never discuss COSATU issues. How they expect workers to be informed of the federation's work and campaigns, escapes me. The same applies to gender issues. It would appear that we are doing very little to build women leadership and to ensure a broader political understanding of the benefits that accrue to society through the emancipation of women. One of the issues that we keep on postponing is how, without a quote system, we will bring women into leadership positions in COSATU. My money is on a quota system.
As we move into 1997, we need to start focusing on the 6th National Congress of COSATU and the ANC conference. All eyes will be trained on the two events. Our detractors will be looking at what policy differences emerge. We should focus on how we could go into the two events having agreed on the challenges, priorities and a proposed way forward. This must include a clear programme of action that the masses can identify with. We must not make these to be electing congresses/conferences, but political and organisational events.
Those of us who are activists of the movement also need to be ready to play our role in the ANC and SACP in any manner that will help consolidate organisation. This must of course not lead to a weak COSATU. However, a selfish approach to building COSATU is not necessarily in the best interest of the struggle, particularly if it does not strengthen the ANC and SACP at the same time.
Our future is in our hands. We dare not fail. The time is past to speak about the leading role of the working class in abstract. Let's roll up our sleeves to work for transformation, a strong alliance and a better life for all. After all, that's what we owe to the future generations.
May all of you have a good festive season. Best wishes for an industrious new year. Do not drink and drive. Wherever you are, see yourself as an ambassador of the movement. From me and the NOBs - hope to see you all in one piece next year.
Revolutionary greetings!
Mbhazima Shilowa
"If the heart is full the mouth proclaims." It is with great sadness, but not regret that I have to publicise through your media some of the issues that have left my heart missing some beats regarding what actually happens behind the dark curtains of the labour unions of liberation.
Now, that we say "democracy must prevail", which goes hand in glove with transparency, it is not always the case with my union.
There are issues that, if a worker tries to find out about, "hell breaks loose". For example, on financial matters, which I think I have a right to know whatever regarding my union. No one should try to give me false information, particularly if my question was for the benefit of the constituency.
But I have noted shop stewards whom we think represent the workers, have a tendency of forgetting that they are also workers, but choose to give false answers. Though I would hate to say they are misinformed.
Comrades, I refer to union investments undertaken by the union. Whether for self-sufficiency or otherwise, workers have the right to know.
In 1994 September, to late 1995, Baragwanath Hospital NEHAWU shop stewards failed to communicate with us as workers because they were too aloof to find common ground with us and level the playing field. Thus they preferred to keep whatever information was to have been given to their constituency. But I detected a power struggle amongst themselves, whilst others were cruising with some of the office bearers.
This had a serious impact because decisions were taken without any mandate in conferences and congresses and no report back was given to workers. One such decision was the 1% subscription increment per total monthly income from R7.50, for workers in all categories. This was condemned by the workers and resulted in many workers resigning from the union. Even today workers are still bitter about this.
Allow me to draw your attention to what prompted me to relate this. It is because of its interrelation with the Safrican Insurance Company, which is a funeral insurance sector operating under Fedsure Group in which NEHAWU is a shareholder registered under Insika. Insika, a black-owned and controlled company is made up of a consortium led by these investments and XB Financial Services and includes other well-known organisations such as: Morthem, NEHAWU, SARHWU, Citizen Bank Holdings and Transitional Nurses Committee.
Fedsure will produce significant growth opportunities within the Funeral Insurance Business.
We also need to know about these Insika Investment Holdings with Malaysia Resources Co-operation Berhard. Safrican will be 51% owned by Insika, Fedsure and Insika 49%. The new company is capitalised at R40 million which Fedsure Group will subscribe R19,6 million and Insika R20,4 million (Citizen, November 18, 1994).
On the above merits, I asked my honourable secretary in my institution not to expose his ignorance as far as his union's financial matters are concerned.
Having had deceased comrades from the rural areas, is there no assistance we could obtain from NEHAWU so as to ferry our comrades, even if it could be one bus from the union? The money that is invested should be able to assist whenever there is a need. Hence the subscription increment.
It is pathetic to state that I was nearly assaulted by my comrade secretary. But I challenged comrades chairperson and her secretary to take me to book for this information as I am used to their attacks for bringing the union into disrepute. I say disrepute or no disrepute, let it be so. Who enjoys these benefits? Office bearers, shop stewards or subscribers?
I will fight to the bitter end to find out about issues that are my right to know. Let Fedsure and Insika not only be utilised for certain people, whilst workers whose contributions are invested are the most incapacitated.
I plead to comrade chairperson at Bara not to defend her union if she is not well versed about certain issues, but rather consult her unionists. I call on the unionists not to regard us as nonentities. Let us all benefit from these investments.
If the office bearers want to deliver speeches at funerals of our worker comrades, they should contribute first so that when they take a platform, they take it with confidence and sincerity.
Is it a crime to be so inquisitive regarding as to whose union is this? Does it belong to Mr Neil Bob Thobejane, the general secretary and his legal wife Mrs Liz Thobejane, who are both leading figures in this union? Mrs Thobejane is the secretary for the office bearers.
Philda Thabile Ndzamela-Mabula,
NEHAWU member,
Baragwanath Hospital,
Gauteng
It was great to see the article on the 1946 African Miners Strike in the August/September edition of The Shopsteward. At the time, and until fairly recently, this was the biggest strike in South African history. I thought readers might be interested in some findings from recent research, particularly as these tend to modify parts of the analysis presented in your article.
First, the Council of Non-European Trade Unions (CNETU), a Transvaal-based organisation, never claimed to have 158,000 members. Rather, in 1945, it said there were about this many members of African unions around the country. The error in the article is a common one, and probably stems from a mistake made by a 1951 government commission. In fact, a better estimate of the membership of African unions at their peak, in 1944, would be nearer 100 000. Even so, this represented a density of union membership among African workers not equaled again until the 1980s. After 1944, the African union movement began to decline, but CNETU continued to exist until it merged with other organisations to establish the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU).
Secondly, your explanation of improvements in the real wage of African industrial workers during the war places too much emphasis on the generosity of the Minister of Labour, Walter Madeley. The key to securing pay increases was, as always, organisation and a willingness, if necessary, to take industrial action. A large element of the increase consisted of a Cost of Living Allowance, which the Prime Minister of the day, General Smuts, introduced in order, as he put it, to "keep our workers in good temper". Because of the war, he was particularly concerned about disruption to production. On many other occasions wage rises were directly linked to strikes or threats of strikes.
Thirdly, your suggestion that African mine workers failed to strike during the war because they were "rural people" is confusing. The composition of the workforce did not change significantly between 1944 and 1946, when more than 70,000 of these "rural people" did strike. At the African Mine Workers' Union conferences in 1944 and 1945 the delegates wanted to strike, but were dissuaded from doing so by the union leadership. Even in 1944, the mine workers would probably have been beaten, but, as your article says, at that point the government was weaker and the unions (including the AMWU) were stronger than in 1946, and they would have stood a better chance of securing some success.
Finally, it is convenient for business interests to hold white workers responsible for the election of the pro-apartheid Nationalists in 1948, but it is almost certainly mistaken. In 1948, the Nats and their Afrikaner Party allies won only a minority of the total vote, and in the major urban areas only 26.7 percent of voters supported them. Significantly, on the eve of the election, left-wing unions became the dominant force within the mainly-white South African Trades and Labour Council (the principal union federation). The most influential individual was the leader of the Garment Workers' Union, Solly Sachs, who the Nats despised as a "Jew communist". Some white workers, particularly miners, did back apartheid, but it is likely that the majority did not, and the Suppression of Communism Act was widely used against the leaders of white workers, as well as against black leaders.
From an academic, who, along with other British university employees, has just voted for a one-day strike, yours in solidarity.
Peter Alexander,
Oxford University
This is to introduce the Equal Rights Project (ERP) of the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality, which started in September this year.
The ERP is a follow-on to the successful lobbying campaign to retain the sexual orientation clause in South Africa's new constitution. The ERP has four main objectives:
The ERP will focus on the following projects:
Currently the ERP is working on a pamphlet on provisions of the new Labour Relations Act regarding sexual orientation employment discrimination. Amandla!
Mazibuko Jara,
ERP
Our people are evidently inclined to grant legitimacy to anything that seems inevitable, no matter how painful it may be. Otherwise the pain may be intolerable. The conquest of this sense of inevitability is essential to the development of politically effective moral outrage.
For this to happen, people must perceive and define their situation as the consequence of human injustice, a situation that they need not, cannot, and ought not to endure. By itself such a perception is no guarantee of political and social changes to come. But without a considerable surge of moral anger, such changes do not occur.
The South African Communist Party contributed to such a surge of moral anger. Its radicalisation became an indispensable spur to black revolutionary activities. The development of the South African Communist Party as a counter consciousness to the dominance of the white minority became a fundamental ingredient in the process of challenging white supremacy.
As long as the ideological terrain remains the uncontested territory of the racial myth, little if any structural transformation can be expected. However, the repression unleashed by the white state in the early 1960s against the national movement of the African liberation created a political vacuum. The banning of the ANC, PAC, BCMA and the SACP in the early 60s left the African population without any viable means of protest and internal opposition.
This absence of challenge against apartheid profoundly shaped the political development of the mid 60s. It provoked the ascendancy of a small class of white liberals bent on defending what it perceived to be the interest of a defenceless African population. It induced an African political opportunism manifested in the rise of the bantustan administrative elite. Finally, it permitted the consolidation of the repressive machinery of supremacy.
We are in a revolutionary situation now, and the people are paying a very high price for it. We have lost our loved ones in this painful struggle leading to African freedom. To mention but a few: comrade Steve Biko (BCMA leader), comrade Johannes Nkosi (SACP leader) , comrade Solomon Mahlangu (MK Commander), comrade Matthew Goniwe (UDF leader), comrade Chris Hani (SACP leader), comrade Harry Gwala (SACP leader). The list is endless.
These are the comrades who laid down their lives for the cause of freedom. What we need to be careful of is that the assassination of our comrades is not yet over. The minority parties are still planning to remove our leaders in the struggle to a complete freedom. So the question is who is next?
Calistro Bhila,
FAWU,
Malelane
Public sector unions will be relieved to learn that the new Essential Services Committee (ESC) has finally been constituted, and regulations to govern operations have now been gazetted. The committee comprises Dhaya Pillay, a Durban-based lawyer who will serve as chairperson, Sunil Narian, a former NUMSA national legal officer, and Prof Kate Jowell, labour academic and director of the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business.
The committee is responsible for designating part or whole of a service as an essential service or a maintenance service, and determining disputes about whether part or whole of a service is an essential service. An essential service is defined as 'a service the interruption of which may endanger the life, personal safety, or health of the whole or any part of the population' whereas maintenance services, if interrupted, 'has the effect of material damage to any working area, plant, or machinery.'
The present committee will serve for a period of six months, whereafter its composition will be reviewed. Existing determinations made in terms of the old LRA and Public Service Labour Relations Act have been extended for a period of six months from 11 November 1996, the date on which the new LRA came into effect.
There are several ways in which a determination can be made:
The Southern Public Service International's Hassen Lorgat says he hopes public sector unions will see the value of establishing a single labour committee through which to channel applications for determinations, and to discuss strategy in relation to essential and maintenance services.
The month-long Southern Africa Brigade to Cuba, organised by the Friends of Cuba Society (FoCS), gets off the ground this December.
More than forty South Africans, and a few nationals from other Southern African countries, will visit and do some work at rural and urban enterprises, healthcare facilities, development projects, and social institutions in Cuba. They will also sample some of the delights at the new tourism ventures being undertaken with foreign investors.
Participants are drawn from a diverse range of health, educational, vocational, and developmental organisations, trade unions, church groups, and individuals. At a cost of R6,000 each, most participants are funding themselves, though FoCS has done some fundraising to assist. A schoolgirl from Mitchell's Plain was chosen by her peers in the sprawling township to represent them.
The tour is both a solidarity gesture and an opportunity for local development workers, romantics and the simply curious, to experience Cuba. The Caribbean island state has made Africa a special area for its solidarity activities, having been active in Angola, Ethiopia, and more recently, by supplying in excess of 200 doctors to SA.
FoCS Gauteng member, Noel Stott, expressed the hope that the tour would pave the way for participants to explore new contacts with counterpart organisations in Cuba, and new avenues of mutual solidarity. "We're really hoping to combine a learning experience with having fun," he said.
The possibility of the trip was raised at the first Southern Africa/Cuba solidarity conference held in Johannesburg more than a year ago, to discuss support for Cuba in the face of renewed US attempts to isolate Cuba internationally. The US blockade received a setback when the European Union and Canada threatened retaliatory measures against provisions of the infamous Helms-Burton Bill. The law, enacted by the US senate this year, seeks to punish foreign companies who, in their dealings with Cuba, use the assets of US citizens and companies confiscated by Cuba.
The South African ambassador to Cuba, former SACTU head John Nkadimeng, will unfortunately not be in Havana to welcome the group. He will be back in South Africa for a visit.
The latest releases of economic indicators and developments point to the need for a left turn in government policies if workers are to maintain present living standards.
The October 1996 Consumer Price Index - the official measurement of inflation - is at its highest since June 1995. The CPI now stands at 9.1%, a full one percentage point up on the figure for September 1996. That's bad news for workers juggling with how to spend their year-end bonuses.
The overall effect is that all South Africans - but especially the poor - are paying more for a range of basic goods and services. The likely consequence is that the 1997 bargaining season will see unions pushing for increases which take creeping inflation into account.
The CSS says that the main culprits contributing to higher costs for poor people are food and transport. Between October 1995 and September this year, food price rises were higher at chain stores than at other retailers - 13% as opposed to 11.2%. Food price rises were highest in the Cape Peninsula, and lowest in the Free State Goldfields (Welkom, Virginia, Harmony).
The persistent high contribution of food inflation to overall inflation is puzzling, considering that good rains have helped increase agricultural output. Increased fuel prices - partly the result of the falling rand - have helped to push up transport inflation. The government is now under additional pressure to urgently finalise its new transport policy.
The CSS cautioned that the costs of running a household will come under added pressure when increased assessment rates (for services), and the extension of rates to previously-excluded areas (such as in informal settlements), are levied from November 1996.
Also likely to add to the spiral as we approach the new year will be the November bank rate increase of one per cent. COSATU warned that government housing and subsidy policy and infrastructural programmes would be severely jeopardised as a result of the latest increase. The federation has called for an ad-hoc parliamentary commission to investigate the government's present monetary policy.
Also released as we went to press were the findings of the CSS' latest (1995) October Household Survey. The survey aims to make it possible to describe the situation in South Africa at a given point in time, and to measure change in people's life circumstances as and when government policies are implemented.
The survey findings confirm the racial, gender and urban/rural disparities in incomes and opportunities. African households are the poorest in the country - 26% have incomes between R0 and R6 839 per annum, compared with 12% of coloured and 2% of both white and Indian households. Twenty nine percent of African men are unemployed, as are 47% of African women, 28% of coloured females, 8% of white females, and 4% of white males.
Only 20% of African males and females obtained a matric pass, compared with 73% of white males, and 63% of white females. CSS head Prof Mark Orkin commented that the findings point to a need to re-prioritise social expenditure towards investment in human resource development for young rural Africans.
A delegation from COSATU's Exco, led by Pres John Gomomo, met with an SACP Central Committee delegation headed by general secretary Charles Nqakula in a bilateral on December 2. COSATU general secretary Sam Shilowa presented COSATU's discussion document on a draft programme for the alliance to the SACP. The SACP's Jeremy Cronin in turn briefed the federation on the SACP secretariat's discussion document Let us not Lose Sight of our Strategic Priorities.
Both sides agreed that, notwithstanding the progress made since the April 1994 elections, the transformation process was threatened by a tendency to turn policy-making into a narrow technical process. The SACP and COSATU delegations concurred that the RDP was being sidelined, and that political oversight of transformation was being lost. "We agreed that a clear Tripartite programme needs to be the basis for going forward, and such a programme will need a clear mandate from our constituencies to rebuild a democratic culture within all our organisations," the two parties said in a statement afterwards.
COSATU and the SACP said they rejected the views of those like Raymond Parsons (SACOB) and Duncan Innes (an industrial relations consultant) who wanted to ignore the verdict of the April 1994 elections, and now argue that the ANC alliance partners are just another group of potential lobbyists. "It was the ANC alliance that won the elections and received an electoral mandate. That is the basis on which the ongoing governance must be conducted," they said.
The bilateral reaffirmed the central role of the ANC and COSATU and the SACP's commitment to the alliance. The parties however reasserted the need for greater involvement in the ANC by working class and socialist forces. "Both the SACP and COSATU are convinced that a socialist perspective is essential for advancing and deepening democracy in our country," the statement said.
In 1997, the two parties plan to hold a series of bilaterals to address:
The meeting also addressed the issue of good governance. "As working class and socialist organisations we see the struggle for clean governance without corruption as essential to our cause. Our class opponents are attempting to hijack the process of change by encouraging a culture of self-enrichment in the form of black economic empowerment for a small elite." This, they said, was often accompanied by the cynical use of corruption by the existing elite in order to safeguard its own privileges. "The struggle for change," the statement said, "is linked to the struggle against corruption."
COSATU's last executive committee meeting of the year on 22 November dealt with a range of issues.
Among the most well-publicised was a discussion document on the tripartite alliance which was presented to the Exco. The document, which has been extensively reported on in the press - at times inaccurately - will be taken into the federation's structures for discussion and debate and will also be presented to the ANC and the SACP. For a summary of the document, see page 21.
The Exco also agreed on the need for a National Health System and National Health Insurance scheme. "We accept that this will have implications for medical aids", general secretary Sam Shilowa told a press briefing, "but we can't continue to perpetuate a situation where a few benefit through private health care and medical aid while the majority suffer."
He said, it would be preferable for workers to contribute to a National Health Insurance scheme rather than to medical aids. However, this could not come into effect until such a scheme was up and running.
COSATU will consult affiliate membership and the Alliance on its proposals. The Exco set up a task team to take the issue further. This includes COSATU president John Gomomo, NUMSA's Enoch Godongwana, NEHAWU's Vusi Nhlapo, CWIU's Muzi Buthelezi and COSATU parliamentary office head Neil Coleman.
On the deadlocked Employment Standards Bill negotiations, the Exco agreed to take COSATU's positions forward in bilaterals with the government and employers and within the Alliance.
The Exco endorsed the COSATU Education Conference programme of action (page 9) and the employment of eight regional educator-organisers to help build and deepen organisation in the federation's eight regions.
Recommendations from a COSATU trade policy workshop in November (page 20 and page 31) and a NEDLAC-organised conference on crime were also endorsed. J
Trade union education and capacity-building can look forward to a shot in the arm following the launch of Ditsela in Johannesburg at the end of November.
Ditsela, meaning pathway, is labour's new Development Institute for Training, Support and Education and its launch follows years of deliberations and negotiations involving COSATU, NACTU, FEDSAL and other parties.
The institute will be trade-union controlled and guided by the aims, objectives and principles of its constituency. According to Ditsela, it aims to empower workers, increase trade union capacity and enhance labour's contribution to political and economic democracy.
Ditsela's management board is made up of educators and 10 trade union leaders from COSATU and FEDSAL. The board's chairperson is COSATU education secretary Shele Papane and the vice-chairperson is FEDSAL's Mike Ryan.
Staff so far includes veteran trade union educators, CWIU's Chris Bonner, who will be Ditsela director and NUMSA's Bobby Marie, Ditsela's programme director.
The organisation will be partly government funded but will also rely on income from its users as well as local and international organisations.
Ditsela's work will include:
"The days of amagundwane are over! Never again," said COSATU's Zwelinzima Vavi to cheers from the crowd, "will the free-riders benefit from our struggles."
Vavi was referring to the agency and closed shop provisions in the new Labour Relations Act. He was one of several speakers, along with Labour Minister Tito Mboweni and NEDLAC executive director Jayendra Naidoo, at a lunch time rally on 11 November to mark the official implementation of the new LRA. They were joined by several hundred workers at Johannesburg's Central Library Gardens for the occasion.
Road freight workers make clear their demands for a living wage during their recent strike. The countrywide strike was settled after the new Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) brokered a settlement between seven transport unions - of which COSATU's Transport and General Workers' Union is the largest - and two employer organisations. The strike was the first in the new national bargaining forum for the industry. The settlement provides for a 14-month wage agreement guaranteeing a 13% wage increase from January 1997.
The critical role of education and training in building organisation emerged as a central point at COSATU's education conference in Johannesburg in November.
The basic unit of union organisation is the workplace and education and training structures had to look at how to empower the workplace to engage in policy issues being taken up by the federation, COSATU general secretary Sam Shilowa told the conference.
"How do we use education and training to rebuild organisation and strengthen ourselves politically to change the balance of power at a socio-economic level?" he asked delegates.
"People say the balance of power economically doesn't allow us to move forward. Let's create that balance of power organisationally and politically to allow us to change the balance of power in the economy.
"We can't accept that the balance of power in the economy is static, that it should remain in white hands. We need to engage in organisational and political programmes which will tilt the balance of power.
"As educators and trainers, organisation, our own power, is the main pillar and our primary weapon to tilt the balance of power," Shilowa said.
The conference looked at the challenges facing the labour movement and had a detailed discussion on scenarios for the future put forward by COSATU's September Commission. It then got down to the nuts and bolts, looking at the needs in trade union education.
In commissions and plenary sessions, delegates considered the pros and cons of accrediting trade union education, a common approach to Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and where COSATU, the individual affiliates and Ditsela fit into building capacity. The different target groups identified were members, stewards, leadership at various levels and staff.
The conference identified four priority areas for union education:
Other areas identified were:
Delegates highlighted the need to create a culture of development to ensure progress in the affiliates. Education programmes should be underpinned by our political principles and leadership should be in the forefront of creating an environment conducive to skills and capacity enhancement in COSATU and its affiliates. This should apply to staff as well.
The conference agreed on the need for a unified approach within the federation to accreditation, in order to avoid tensions between levels accredited and those not accredited.
The main focus should be the collective and organisational role of trade union education, which should be ideologically driven and not geared primarily towards accreditation and skilling individuals.
COSATU and its affiliates should determine standards and not leave it to outside bodies. "We should not lose ownership of the process of developing standards."
Other priorities agreed to at the conference were:
The programme of action adopted at the conference was ratified by COSATU's November executive committee meeting. For more details, contact your union. J
COSATU's regions can look forward to a boost following regional congresses in November. Common themes that emerged from the congresses were the need to build organisational structures and capacity at every level of the federation to meet key socio-economic and political challenges. Affiliates were called on to play a more active role in building COSATU structures at regional and local level. Delegates saw a continued role for the tripartite alliance and called for closer consultation between the alliance partners.
While attendance was fair, the Wits region's first attempt to hold a congress failed when too few delegates arrived. However, this problem was solved when a successful congress was held two weeks later. Some of COSATU's newer affiliates failed to send delegates in certain regions.
Congress resolutions included those on building the alliance, the government's macro-economic framework, crime and taxi violence. Some regions also elected new regional office bearers.
COSATU national office, the alliance and national or provincial government attended congresses in most regions.
Mpumalanga
Noting organisational weaknesses, the Mpumalanga regional congress resolved to hold a workshop on how to revive and sustain the COSATU structures. It was decided that the six locals that have collapsed - in Delmas, Bethal, Witbank, Barberton, Burgersfort and Lydenburg - must be revived with the assistance of an innovative and "sustainable programme".
It was decided that affiliate regional secretaries would meet after the congress to ensure the delegation of tasks and the effective implementation of congress decisions.
Cde Norman Mokoena from CWIU was elected into the regional education portfolio and was asked to represent COSATU on the provincial Vocational Education and Training structure.
Congress was also told about a training workshop on the new Labour Relations Act scheduled for 17 November 1996 in Secunda.
To ensure continuity of the regional executive committee (REC) and to offer it a sense of permanence, congress decided that the REC should consist of affiliate regional or branch office bearers who must be mandated by the affiliate to sit on the REC.
Congress also elected comrades to represent COSATU in various regional forums. Professor M Maseko was endorsed by congress as the Chief Executive Officer of the Provincial Development Consultative Council, comrade Richard Mphela was elected to represent COSATU on the Mpumalanga Investment Committee, and comrades Elizabeth Masilela, Jubilant Dlamini and Bethuel Malabela were appointed as members of the Unemployed Benefit Committee.
Northern Province
COSATU general secretary Sam Shilowa urged delegates at the Northern Province congress to embark on training to equip shop stewards with more information to challenge their employers on issues like productivity.
He pointed to the need for COSATU to be more consistent in building the alliance. He warned against an approach which said, "if the ANC agrees with us, it is our alliance, but if it disagrees with us, we think of breaking the alliance".
Pointing to weaknesses in the mass democratic movement, he said we no longer have slogans for the transitional period, nor do we have a programme to mobilise the entire society on issues like housing. There was an urgent need to prioritise development in the Northern Province, he said.
Jessie Duarte, Gauteng MEC for public safety and security, also spoke at the congress. She outlined steps taken to root out crime. She said the anti-crime campaign required the participation of the entire tripartite alliance to mobilise communities against the crime wave. "It would be the duty of communities," she said, "to report to the police people who are in possession of illegal firearms."
The congress referred a number of organisational issues to the REC and turned its attention to broader socio-economic issues on the agenda.
Crime was a key agenda item and delegates put their heads together to identify factors which contribute to the escalation of crime. The congress resolved that:
Discussions moved to the taxi wars that have killed and maimed many people, including members of COSATU affiliates. After intensive debate, the congress resolved that a short-term solution would be to boycott those taxi associations involved in the violence. As a long-term solution, the nationalisation of the entire taxi industry should be considered.
The congress also discussed the problem of rates. It was noted that, while the political transformation brought relief to the majority of those who were previously voteless, it also brought with it high service tariffs which the majority of people could not afford. The congress felt that many newly elected local councillors were inexperienced and not accountable to their constituencies. The congress resolved that:
The following people were elected regional office bearers: regional chairperson: Peter Ditsele (NUMSA); vice chairperson: Makgoba Mothlake (CWU); treasurer: Emily Toakobong (SACTWU); regional secretary: Meshack Sihlangu (NUMSA).
Western Transvaal
COSATU speakers at the Western Transvaal regional conference reported to delegates on negotiations in NEDLAC around the proposed new law on Employment Standards. They said COSATU faced some difficult challenges, especially in responding to the privatisation of public assets and the effect this had on jobs.
Speakers highlighted some of the problems facing government and how this affected the implementation of the RDP.
COSATU assistant general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi delivered the congress keynote address on the present state of the organisation and the challenges facing COSATU.
He stressed the need to rebuild those structures which are collapsing. This was especially important given the rapid pace of developments and the need to contest government decisions which were not worker friendly and which do not fit into the COSATU paradigm of development.
He said that the culture of worker control must be maintained at all costs. "History will charge us as failures if we do not change from the culture of obtaining information from the press to obtaining it through our coherent constitutional structures," he said.
Vavi cautioned that the economic balance of forces was being tilted in favour of the capitalists with the introduction of the government's Gear document.
"COSATU believes that the implementation of Gear will cause mayhem in the country, which will result in the rich getting richer and the poor, poorer," he said.
The following regional office bearers were elected: regional chairperson: A Nebe; vice-chairperson: S Marenene; treasurer: W Molapo; secretary: S Mokoena.
Free State/ Northern Cape
Free State premier at the time, Terror Lekota, encouraged the delegates at COSATU's Free State-Northern Cape congress to strengthen the structures of COSATU and of the alliance. He stressed that this must be done to ensure that the government is accountable to the people. Active participation in COSATU and government structures was key to organisational sustainability, he said.
Speaking about the need to build organisation, delegates said COSATU and its affiliates should strive to ensure that union membership reflected the entire workforce in the region. It was decided that a recruiting strategy should be developed to organise those workers who remain unorganised.
The congress decided to use the new LRA as a tool to effect change in the workplace and to build organisation.
Concern was raised about the lack of participation of POPCRU, SASBO, SARHWU, SAAPAWU and CWU in the COSATU constitutional structures in the region.
The congress stressed that the region needs to build shop stewards' capacity and to develop adequate leadership to meet the current national and international challenges facing COSATU.
It was suggested that COSATU use its strength to influence the ANC to use its political power to transform the economy and redistribute the wealth.
On COSATU's political role, the congress resolved to strengthen participation and interaction with the government and the ANC. It also called for an MDM or government summit to assess the failures, progress and future plans in the build-up to the next national election in 1999.
Delegates agreed that COSATU should mobilise the democratic forces and civil society to ensure the transformation of all aspects of society. The alliance secretariat needs to be strengthened, the congress resolved, and the alliance should draft a programme of engagement which will provide direction for the future.
Bilateral discussions were needed between COSATU and the SACP to explore issues concerning class interests.
On the economy, the congress decided that a workshop on the macro-economic policy of the state must be held in the region and that a campaign should be formulated to highlight workers rejection of the government's Gear document.
The following regional office bearers were elected: chairperson: Neo Moleyane; vice-chairperson: Angela Watkins; treasurer: Rens Klaas; regional secretary: Jomo Bonokwane.
Western Cape
Addressing COSATU's Western Cape congress, Minister of Justice, Dullah Omar, expressed a hope that the congress would serve as a unifying force for workers in the Western Cape.
He highlighted social problems facing the province, such as unemployment, education and housing. He paid tribute to COSATU's role in bringing about democracy in South Africa, but pointed out that political change without social and economic change was meaningless for the majority of the people.
"The elections were only the first step, and the bigger challenge facing us is making democracy a reality for the working people."
Omar cautioned congress against the bosses' tactics of sowing division between African and coloured workers through the misuse of affirmative action policies.
He acknowledged that there would be differences between COSATU and the ANC. "We need to allow for these differences but we need to guard against divisions," he said. COSATU had a duty to defend the views of the working class. Therefore, if it was critical of Gear, ongoing discussions needed to be entered into with the government.
SACP chairperson Charles Nqakula told the congress that the country had entered the phase of the consolidation of national liberation. The outcome of this process was critical, he said.
History was an excellent teacher, he added, and many lessons could be learnt from revolutions in other countries.
Nqakula outlined the importance of a socialist outcome to the process of transformation and stressed that "we should not lose sight of our strategic objectives". He warned that "many more battles and responsibilities lie ahead" and that COSATU should prepare itself for these.
The congress passed resolutions on gender, the provincial constitutional drafting process, the appointment of the director general of public services, the building of capacity and the need to co-ordinate involvement in provincial economic forums.
The following regional office bearers were elected: regional chairperson: Randy Pieterse (NUMSA); vice-chairperson: Claudia Leisching (SACTWU); treasurer: Wiseman Ciko (NUM); secretary: Tony Ehrenreich (NUMSA).
Wits
After an initial postponement, the Wits region's congress was eventually held on 17 November. COSATU first vice president George Nkadimeng told the congress about the importance of involving members in policy formulation within the federation.
Speaking about the alliance, he said there had been a lack of consultation between the alliance partners on key economic issues. However, he urged delegates to involve themselves in building the components of the alliance. He also reported to delegates about COSATU's position on the government's macro-economic framework, the Employment Standards Bill, the privatisation of state assets and government's tax holiday incentives for business.
The congress resolved that attempts to rebuild the economy and reduce state expenditure to repay the national debt should not be at the expense of the working class.
Delegates also agreed that COSATU should remain vigilant to ensure clean and transparent government. Public sector unions were urged to expedite their merger to counteract government's approach to right-sizing in the public service and define a programme of action around which to rally all COSATU affiliates.
The congress reiterated the relevance of the tripartite alliance, but emphasised the need for proper consultation, particularly on key strategic issues. Other resolutions included:
The congress endorsed the COSATU CEC decision on the restructuring of state assets.
A resolution on the regional executive committee (REC) pushed for affiliates to be more involved in building COSATU at regional level and that affiliates should elect permanent delegates to the COSATU REC.
Another resolution on locals called on affiliates with a large membership in a particular area to revive or set up COSATU locals there. All affiliates should make sure that their members attend locals.
REC members should co-ordinate locals and local office bearers should report monthly to the regional secretary.
No elections were held at the congress. J
Eastern Cape
COSATU's Eastern Cape regional congress stretched over two days. The first day was dedicated to looking at the current state of the South African struggle and where we are in the national democratic revolution. It included inputs from representatives of the tripartite alliance, SANCO and the government.
The second day looked at organisational and socio-economic issues.
In looking at steps which need to be taken to build the organisation, delegates from many affiliates were of the view that the powers of the COSATU locals need to be extended. However, it was felt that there were also some disadvantages to this. It was decided that discussions on this would continue until it could be decided on at COSATU's national congress in 1997.
It was agreed that the capacity of shop stewards and the regional leadership needs to be enhanced. However, it was noted that affiliates were not equipped to take on this task. It was resolved that a co-ordinated capacity-building programme be developed. It was noted that there should be a shift from building capacity for leadership only and that this programme would therefore also target workers and shop stewards on the factory floor.
Following debates on socio-economic issues, the congress reaffirmed its opposition to the government's macro-economic strategy and that this should not be implemented whilst still under discussion within the alliance.
On the matter of the taxi wars and crime in general, it was resolved to consult with the alliance and meet the Eastern Cape government to propose the deployment of soldiers in areas affected by violence in the province.
In addition, the congress decided that, if the violence does not stop, COSATU must mobilise its members against using taxis and that the government should provide alternative transport like buses and trains. In addition, the congress resolved that the Eastern Cape Commissioner of Police should be dismissed, "since there is no effort on his part to bring the taxi wars to an end".
KwaZulu-Natal
The ANC's S'bu Ndebele, who is also KwaZulu-Natal's MEC for Transport, addressed COSATU's KwaZulu-Natal regional congress on the issue of the role of the alliance in the present period. He also told the congress about the ANC's position on the death penalty and the termination of pregnancy bill.
Ndebele stressed the need to begin to build democracy in the workplace following the implementation of the new Labour Relations Act.
SACP speaker, Magwaza Mapalala, encouraged the congress and the COSATU leadership to continue to carry the mandate of the masses. COSATU has a major role to play in determining the direction of the South African economy, he said, and "only an organisation which is strong and prepared will be in a position to have an impact on the economy".
COSATU second vice-president Connie September addressed congress on issues emerging from the September Commission, which she heads.
She urged delegates to make a proper evaluation of the federation's past activities to equip the organisation for future challenges. She said that, as COSATU, "we need to strengthen our structures and internalise democracy". She also stressed the need for an intensive programme of training for the membership and the officials.
September reported from the COSATU CEC on the decision to continue with the alliance, while at the same time rejecting the government's macro-economic framework and the proposed job creation conference.
She reported on the issues where there was deadlock between COSATU, business and the government in negotiations on the Employment Standards Bill. She called on the delegates to be ready for action if no agreement around these issues is reached.
The regional secretary's report was referred to the next Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting.
COSATU's parliamentary inroads
COSATU, with the help of its parliamentary office, has made sure workers' voice was heard in the highest decision-making forums of our country's first democratic government over the past year.
The office helped COSATU secure a number of strategic victories for workers. Most significant of these victories was the entrenchment of workers' rights in our country's new constitution. The mobilisation of tens of thousands of workers throughout the country added weight to COSATU's submissions during the constitutional negotiations, and ensured that COSATU and the ANC were able to fight off the minority parities in their campaign against workers' rights.
COSATU's demands for the new constitution focused on 15 key areas. Nearly all these were met. The victories include the entrenchment of the right to strike, the exclusion of a lock-out right, the protection of sectoral bargaining, the protection of closed and agency shop agreements and the securing of the right to picket. Significant gains were also made for workers' rights to gain information held by bosses, the accountability of public enterprises and the potential for the adoption of a Workers' Charter.
In addition to COSATU's victories in the constitutional process, other key gains made at the parliamentary level as a direct result of COSATU's intervention during 1996 include:
COSATU also intervened to redirect or limit potentially damaging measures including:
During the year, COSATU also presented various inputs on government policy papers and pending legislation to a range of parliamentary committees. Whether these proposals will be adopted by government depends on how effectively these matters are pursued and on the extent to which workers continue to be informed of - and mobilised around - these issues.
The participation of affiliates in informing COSATU policy on issues that affect workers in the sectors where they organise is crucial in deepening worker participation. Affiliate participation during 1996 was uneven, with some affiliates organising themselves to feed into the parliamentary process through the COSATU parliamentary office, while other affiliates did not. There are signs that affiliates are preparing to engage more actively in the parliamentary process during 1997.
The table on the next page outlines the key submissions made by COSATU which were presented to the parliamentary committees by COSATU representatives including: Sam Shilowa, Zwelinzima Vavi, Connie September, Dorothy Mokgalo, Neil Coleman, Ebrahim Patel and Herbert Mkhize.
COSATU's parliamentary office is headed by former COSATU publicity officer, Neil Coleman, and staffed by administrator Crystal Dicks and researcher, Kenneth Creamer. J
Summary of COSATU submissions to parliamentary committees
Smith Committee:
Retirement Funds: Submission to Finance Committee, May 1996
Katz Commission:
Taxation: Submission to Finance Committee January 1996
Budget: Submission to Finance Committee, March 1996
Labour and Trade and Industry Budgets:
Tax holidays: Submission to Finance Committee, September 1996
Interest rates: Submission to Special Parliamentary Committee, July 1996
Tariffs: Submission to Trade and Industry Committee, October 1996
National Small Business Bill: Submission to Trade and Industry Portfolio Committee, October 1996
Housing: Submission to Housing Committee, April 1996
Telecommunications Bill: Submission to Communications Portfolio Committee, October 1996
Termination of Pregnancy Bill: Submission to Health Portfolio Committee, October 1996
Schools Bill: Submission to Education Portfolio Committee, September 1996
Social Welfare White Paper: Submission to Social Welfare Portfolio Committee, November 1996
Unionists at the December World Trade Organisation conference in Singapore will not only face the sheer might of globalisation, they will also begin to explore ways to change one of the world's most powerful bodies
When South African unionists arrive in Singapore this December for the first ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), they will be forgiven for feeling that the world in which they organised workers - whether at the workplace, throughout their industries, or across the country - has been overtaken and replaced by one in which everything happens faster, and on a grander scale. That's the consequence of what has become known as globalisation. But while they may at times have a profound sense of being overwhelmed by this seemingly unstoppable force, it is also evident that globalisation has shifted the role of organised workers in the world economy to a higher, if more uncertain level.
What is globalisation?
Globalisation refers to the vast changes that have taken place over the past two decades in the international economy - the rapid and pervasive diffusion around the world of investment in and production and consumption of goods, services, capital and technology. At the end of the twentieth century, the WTO - and the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund - are regarded as the real and symbolic agents of this new economic order.
Synonymous with globalisation is liberalisation (easing) of tariff and other barriers to facilitate the freer movement of goods, services, technology and investment to parts of the world, where such measures may previously have acted as a barrier to free trade.
Taken together with the structural adjustment programmes demanded of debtor countries by international lending agencies, these institutions and processes combine into a formidable system of economic - and ultimately political - domination of the developed world over the lesser-developed world.
Marginalisation - the view that those countries which refuse or are unable to co-operate in the liberalisation of trade, will be left behind - is the other side of the globalisation coin.
The origins and role of the WTO
The WTO came into being on January 1, 1995, and is the product of the Uruguay Round of negotiations for a new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) between 1986 and 1994. In theory, the WTO exists to oversee the development of a multilateral, rules-based trading system. But for many of the world's poor, the WTO is the agent of trans-national or multi-national corporations (TNCs/ MNCs) and of the rich and powerful countries seeking new opportunities for making profits in the developing world.
The first GATT was negotiated almost 50 years ago when, in 1947, the victorious Allies met in Geneva to agree on a set of rules for the emerging, post-World War II system of international trade. At that stage, GATT did not make provision for the still-colonised world.
Later, in the 1970s, the Lomé Convention was concluded between what was to become the European Union (EU) member states, and the developing countries of the ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific). The Convention permitted ACP countries access to European markets (but excluded South Africa because of its racial policies).
The main imperatives for globalisation - and the push for a multilateral, rules-based trading system - spring from the expansion of the new information technologies, and the proliferation of large, powerful TNCs in virtually every sector of economic activity, head-quartered in the developed countries.
The TNCs seek to take advantage of the modest growth in incomes and potential for consumption over the past two decades of a small portion of the world's population, spurred on by views such as those of WTO general secretary Renato Ruggiero. He estimates that although 1.5 billion people are poorer today than in the past, almost 3 billion people are better off now than at any point in history.
The difference between UNCTAD and the WTO
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is charged with ensuring that the social dimensions of trade and investment - issues such as the impact of trade on the environment and development, and how this affects women, the poor, children, etc. - are not forgotten. UNCTAD participants include governments, business and NGOs. South Africa currently holds the presidency of UNCTAD. Many fear that, as the WTO assumes ascendancy in matters of trade and investment, UNCTAD - and thereby development issues - will be marginalised.
Who stands to benefit from globalisation?
Although meant to level the playing field for trade and investment, and ensure equal access to all markets for producers, globalisation has resulted in asymmetrical (uneven) effects and rewards.
Is it really possible, in the era of free trade, for a workers' co-operative in Zambia producing furniture by hand, to competitively tender for a government contract to supply office furniture, against a hi-tech factory in Sweden producing machined goods? The Zambian product cannot hope to match the volumes, quality, delivery times, advertising power etc. of the Swedish product. The Zambian product is reduced to finding a 'niche' (smaller) market for itself.
The Filipino trade union federation, KMU, estimates that 113,000 mainly manufacturing workers lost their jobs between January 1995 and the first quarter of 1996, as a direct result of the Philippines meeting its obligations under the Uruguay Round of GATT. As a condition for IMF/World Bank loans, the Philippines has committed itself to an additional tariff reduction of 5% on rice imports before the APEC timetable of 2004. This has left the country's peasant producers vulnerable to competition from heavily-subsidised and highly-mechanised American imports.
COSATU too complains that government's trade policies attempt to be "holier than GATT" in that they insist on reducing tariffs more and faster than required by SA's compliance with its normal WTO/GATT obligations.
Women and children particularly bear the brunt of the globalisation of the world economy. ANC MP Ben Turok reckons that while globalisation has increased women's participation in the modern economy everywhere except in sub-Saharan Africa, it has been at lower levels of pay, and under poorer working conditions than those for men. And, because trade liberalisation makes it easier for Pakistani carpets and Indian cricket bats - produced largely by bonded and child labour - to enter the EU, exploitation of child labour has increased.
Market access and international trade
Apart from imports of primary products such as minerals and some agricultural products, the markets of the developed countries are effectively closed to goods from the least-developed countries (LDCs).
In international trade, therefore, the biggest obstacles facing developing countries and the LDCs are market access and foreign direct investment (FDI). In its free trade arrangements, NAFTA has taken on board Mexico, and is eyeing Chile as its next member. Because of its obvious size and potential, China is accorded most-favoured nation (MFN) status by the United States.
In negotiations for a free trade agreement with the EU, European farmers are pressurising their governments to exclude a sizeable portion of South Africa's agricultural produce from any future arrangement.
Recent UNCTAD reports on trade, investment and development show that FDI flows continued to be skewed in favour of the political agenda of the developed countries. The 100 poorest countries attracted only 1% of all FDI. China received US$ 38 billion, compared to Africa's US$ 5 billion. Moreover, only 25% of FDI was productively invested in new factories, plant and machinery, and jobs. The balance was spent on mergers and acquiring existing companies.
The WTO and regionalism
The last decade has seen the consolidation of trade blocs in North America (NAFTA), South America (Mercosur), Western Europe (the EU), in the Asia Pacific (APEC) and Southern Africa (the SADC). In addition, many other sub-regional customs and trade arrangements exist, such as the Southern African Customs Union grouping SA, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and Namibia.
The WTO says it is not opposed to the establishment and consolidation of regional trade blocs. Most of the leading industrial economies grouped in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries are already members of one or more such blocs. However, regional co-operation, especially between countries of the South, threatens the developed countries. Even before the WTO, the major economies were organising themselves into economic groupings.
Initial attempts at harmonisation of economic policy within the regional blocs and arrangements have served as a stepping stone for integration at a global level. It is at this point in the history of the world's trade relationships that the WTO seeks to intervene.
Many fear that the WTO will simply facilitate the domination of the world's economy by the big, powerful TNCs.
COSATU positions on the WTO
In early November, COSATU convened a two-day workshop for affiliates to broaden their understanding of trade-related issues. The federation's starting point is to question the assumptions of the WTO, its interests, and theoretical justifications, and build alliances to effect fundamental changes in the system. Central to this is broadening and democratising the WTO, and its eventual transformation into a tripartite body.
COSATU is opposed to a single, undifferentiated system of rules being applied to all countries which does not take into account levels of economic development. The workshop also called on COSATU's Exco to commission further research into the WTO. In the meantime, COSATU will argue to the other social partners that concessions be sought in the WTO on those issues which negatively affect South Africa and the region.
The South Africans are the only unionists from any country in the world to be included in their government's official delegation to the Ministerial Conference. Their status is enviable amongst trade unions around the world, but their task - influencing government trade and investment policy in this new forum - is made more difficult by having to pioneer a new role for workers. And so, while there are uncertain times ahead, new opportunities do present themselves.
Workers will have to expand contacts at an international level, and meet more frequently to exchange news and plan solidarity activities. The opportunities to build new worker organisations that span national and continental boundaries will arise. After Singapore, organised workers everywhere will hopefully have a better idea of the tasks that lie ahead in the new era. J
COSATU's WTO delegation
The agenda of the Singapore Ministerial Conference
The Singapore meeting will consider:
The built-in agenda also touches on some of the other subjects which various members have proposed for the WTO's work programme, such as the desirability of a multilateral investment agreement (MIA), and competition. Developing countries are opposed to an MIA, in the belief this will fetter their discretion to decide the terms and conditions of foreign investment.
OECD countries and TNC/MNC CEOs have hinted that they are seeking, at the very least, free repatriation of capital and profits, and national treatment (between domestic and imported goods). The US has rejected any effort to formulate a code of conduct for TNCs. Developing countries, in turn, fear that unless they are able to retain some control over FDI, they will be forced to into a frenzied spiralling race of FTZ-type (free trade zone) incentives in order to attract and retain foreign investors.
A programme for the Alliance
Following a discussion on the tripartite alliance in COSATU's September CEC, the federation has produced a discussion paper which proposes a programme for the Alliance to blow life into transformation in our country. Here we give a summary of the document, which is still under discussion in COSATU structures.
Background to the alliance
From COSATU's inception in 1985, the federation developed a close association with the Congress movement. Conditions in the country dictated the need to go beyond bread and butter issues to embrace national and class struggle. This perspective was formally endorsed with COSATU's adoption of the Freedom Charter in 1987. The 1987 Congress agreed COSATU should build alliances with mass-based organisations with a track record of struggle and whose principles did not conflict with those of COSATU.
After the unbanning of the liberation movement, COSATU's 1991 Congress resolved that the Federation should join the ANC and SACP in alliance in place of SACTU, thus becoming part of the Tripartite Alliance as we know it today. It was understood that this Alliance:
We agreed to build the ANC and SACP and to encourage workers to join.
In the pre-election period, the Alliance parties consulted one another on major issues. A number of summits were held to look at positions on negotiations, mobilisation in support thereof, joint struggle on VAT, and the elections. Finally, we developed the RDP, not only as an election platform, but as a programme designed to achieve the objective of transforming our society to meet the social and economic needs of our people.
After the 1994 elections
Since the elections, the Alliance has never sat down to systematically look at the challenges of the transition and formulate a strategy, and the role of our various formations in that strategy. Nor was this done for those in parliament, government, various formations outside of government and the state sector. No programme was formulated for engagement of the masses. To date the masses largely remain spectators in the theatre of the struggle for transformation. Notable exceptions were the negotiations on the LRA and the Constitution, where the alliance spoke with one voice.
Current situation
Political
We have a new political situation, with a legitimate government and parliament. However, we have not been able to use organisational and political space to alter the power balance at a socio-economic level. Good legislation has emerged from parliament, with COSATU's participation. However, there was no prior strategic planning or systematic Alliance approach to policy development. We have depended on the views of individuals in government, rather than the position of the organisation as a whole.
Socio-economic
This area has been the most difficult one for the Alliance. There is no single view of how to implement the RDP. Government positions on privatisation and GEAR have been presented to the Alliance as a fait accompli. This was a clear case of policy driven by panic. No one from the movement, except some in government, was involved in its formulation.
Local and international business and the media have pressurised government to adopt economic policies in direct contradiction to those they were mandated to implement. The movement seems to be paralysed by the threat of globalisation and the business investment strike. The defeatist view that the balance of forces is not in our favour and that we have to give in to "the market" appears to have taken hold. This ignores the significance of our access to state power and the potential of organisation, using the new political space, to tilt the balance of forces.
The economy in the new South Africa is largely what is was in 1993, except for some growth (jobless) and a few black faces and companies. Otherwise it is business as usual.
Organisational
There is general demobilisation of our people. Most activists are not sure of what the strategic objectives are. There is little participation and involvement in decision and policy making. ANC structures have no visible mass mobilisation programme. The Alliance itself has no programme except the often cited RDP which means many things to different people. Our structures are either weak or not functioning.
Limits and possibilities of democratic transformation
Marx: 'We change the world, but not under conditions of our own choosing.' This statement is true of our situation. We are attempting to transform our country yet we face various constraints which we did not choose. They have been thrust upon us by history.
These include:
While we inherited enormous problems, the elements are present for us to perform our own 'social miracle' comparable to post-war Europe, the Asian Tigers, and aspects of the Socialist advances of the 20th century.
As with all other societies facing reconstruction challenges, the critical factor will be our ability to mobilise the masses in support of the programme - to unleash huge national energies to achieve what would normally not be possible. The objective basis has been laid, for this scenario to unfold. Our rich history of struggle has resulted in one of the most politicised and conscious mass movements, rooted in a strongly organised working class.
The organisation of the main mass formations under the leadership of the Alliance has catapulted a progressive people's government into power on the basis of an overwhelming popular mandate.
The major social forces have subscribed to a programme of transformation, which was the product of extensive discussion and mobilisation. Our society has a strong tradition of an active progressive civil society and social institutions. Compared to other developing societies, the country's industrial base and the advanced organisation of workers into a progressive trade union movement, give the progressive forces considerable strategic leverage. SA has more potential international allies and goodwill than probably any other comparable struggle.
These positive factors are potentialities, which have to be harnessed to be fully realised. Given our potential strengths, is it possible to achieve fundamental transformation under the constraints inherited from apartheid and the new world order?
Two dangers arise. The first is fatalism - passively accepting that these forces ranged against us are too powerful to counter and we must simply accept our fate. The second is triumphalism - pretending that our electoral triumph has wiped out these constraints and that we can impose our agenda of change, without factoring objective realities into our transformation equation.
The balance of forces
"The main motive forces of the democratic transformation are primarily represented by African workers and the African rural poor. These forces are also represented by black workers in general and the black middle strata. These are the forces which possess the best political and ideological potential to lead and defend the process of transformation... While continuing to strive to represent the black people as a whole, the movement must however ensure that, at all times, and in the first instance, it represents the interests of the workers, rural masses and the middle strata, those who constitute the majority of the people of this country." (Strategy and Tactics, ANC conference, December 1994)
After more than two years of democratic government, the power of the apartheid-era ruling class remains largely entrenched in critical areas: the security forces, the media, the bureaucracy, and above all in the commanding heights of the economy. While the leading partner of the Alliance, the ANC, is in office, there are real questions as to how far the democratic forces have taken power. This has been raised on more than one occasion by both Comrades Thabo and Madiba.
This is not to discount the fact that significant advances have been made. However, the programme of the democratic movement, the RDP, has been systematically undermined by a range of forces attempting to halt transformation.
The power of the masses, concentrated in the Alliance, is the main driving force to counter those forces attempting to divert the state off the path of fundamental transformation.
However, instead of mass mobilisation being seen as a vital force for driving transformation, we have reduced mass involvement to appeals for payment of rents and services.
The lack of leadership from the democratic movement and the lack of a people-driven transformation, has lead to demobilisation and demoralisation, particularly of activists. This in turn undermines the cohesion and power of our organisations and their ability to intervene decisively in the transformation equation.
Remove the masses, the progressive forces for change from your calculation, and the power of the reactionary forces becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It is time for the movement to problematise the transformation process and to mobilise our forces behind the new challenges.
How do we characterise this phase of our struggle?
We face a situation which is similar to "dual power". The new democratic government, while fully legitimate, popular, and apparently in full control, neither has its hands decisively on all the tillers of state power (the security forces, bureaucracy, parastatals, reserve bank, judiciary etc.) nor has it been able to strategically direct the economy of the country based on our own agenda. The call for blind adherence to privatisation, a reduced budget deficit for its own sake and the immediate removal of exchange controls are part of an attempt to weaken and ultimately remove the state's role in the economy.
This sense of 'dual power' helps to convey the strategic moment in which we find ourselves: the existence of a popular bloc, with its representatives in government, parliament and other institutions, pitted against a minority bloc, attempting to use its access to economic and other power to abort the NDR. The debate is not about whether we are in the phase of completing the struggle for socialism or national democracy. The question is: having successfully held democratic elections, are we able to seriously enter into the task of beginning to decisively transform our country in a manner which will ensure the success of the NDR?
This moment of transition - crudely put, either moving forward to a fundamental transformation, or backwards to the consolidation of minority privilege, albeit with new features - is a historical moment, which can't last indefinitely. Either of the two forces or blocs outlined above, will seize the initiative to lead and direct society. This poses a challenge to the Alliance, government, members of parliament, and progressive civil society to take our fate into our own hands.
This implies two things: firstly, the need for a popular programme, which is implementable, broadly supported, and able to achieve the social hegemony required to break this deadlock and continuously shift the power balance qualitatively in our favour. Secondly, the political will, and organisational ability to drive this programme.
Can we present a hegemonic alternative to lead society?
The great Italian revolutionary Gramsci used the concept of 'hegemony' to describe the process whereby a particular class in society successfully puts forward its programme for adoption by society as a whole. The RDP was an extremely powerful intervention by the democratic forces in our country to assert their hegemony.
However, there is a concerted attempt to impose capital's agenda on society as the only feasible alternative to social and economic transformation. Even those who don't like it argue that we have to accept the limitations which the international environment imposes on us. A slogan coined by a multinational company in South Africa to capture this sense of 'the end of history' is the 'TINA' scenario, which stands for "There Is No Alternative"! (We need to counterpose this with a 'THEBA' scenario - There Has To Be An Alternative!)
It is critical that we as a movement have a rigorous and coherent platform which shows that the prescriptions of capital's agenda are disastrous, that we have a viable alternative, that we won't be blackmailed into abandoning our programme and that we are capable of mobilising our people behind it.
There is nothing inherently wrong in the RDP which suggests that it was an inappropriate or unrealistic programme. It is therefore not a question of reinventing the RDP, but demonstrating that we have a concrete, achievable programme to implement it and a programme to involve the masses in driving this process. If the alliance is to drive this process, both democratic government and progressive civil society must be fully involved.
Regalvanising the MDM
A broad front of MDM forces for transformation, transforming our mass organisations into a different type of vehicle than that used to destroy apartheid, is a basic necessity.
The Alliance needs to have a strategic open and frank discussion with SANCO on our vision of a civic movement and its role in a democracy.
Continued fragmentation of MDM forces will have serious consequences. Governments programmes for transformation in health, land, education, local government, housing and other critical areas will depend critically on the active involvement and mobilisation of these constituencies. We have failed as an Alliance to consolidate MDM organisations as a meaningful united force in society since the elections. This must be rectified through the development of an effective programme to bring these organisations on board.
Trade unions and the alliance
"We have won the elections as a result of the sweat and blood of the tripartite alliance. That alliance must go on. But that does not mean that COSATU and the SACP are subservient to the ANC. No. That's why you have criticised us in the past... We want that, because when we face any issue we want the advice of strong, independent allies who can say to us 'Now you are right', and who can say to us, 'Now you are wrong'. That is why we have been so strong. We've been working with strong, independent organisations that are self-confident, fearless, and who can express their views, even when those views clash with ours." (President Mandela, The Shopsteward, May 1996)
Some in the trade union movement may write off the entire movement as having abandoned the NDR and conclude that the Alliance is no longer a viable vehicle for transformation. This would be mistaken:
Workers are themselves grappling with how to relate to the changed situation. They want to engage with the situation. They want to work with the ANC, but are not clear as to what that working relationship should be. How does it relate to their struggles - better conditions of employment, elimination of poverty and unemployment, socialism, etc.
More engagement is needed between COSATU and the SACP. While COSATU has a vision that extends beyond the shopfloor, it needs a revolutionary working class party to spearhead a working class programme. This will help to locate the struggle for socialism in the current struggles.
COSATU faces the danger of becoming reactive and defensive. As our broad social role becomes increasingly difficult to sustain, we face the danger of isolation and a retreat into narrow economism. Any attempt to play the role of a "permanent opposition" would also see the marginalisation of unions and fragmentation of the democratic forces. This starkly poses the need for a new strategy, both for the Alliance and the trade union movement.
Proposal for an alliance programme
Need for a new strategy
The RDP should remain the programme of the Alliance. What we need now is a strategy for its implementation. This needs to be based on strategic core areas which can lay the basis, particularly in the socio-economic sphere and in the transformation of state institutions, for a qualitative movement forward in the RDP's implementation. We should seek agreement in the Alliance on concrete measures to take us forward in areas such as social security and the social wage (health, transport, pensions, UIF etc.); job creation (especially public works and investment); intervention in the financial markets; public housing and infrastructure; training; land reform; elements of trade and industrial policy; tax reform and wage policy (especially reducing the wage gap).
We need a sharper focus on strategic areas which both decisively improve people's quality of life and leverage significant power for the popular forces and democratic government, in the economy.
These core measures would obviously need to be located within a macro-economic framework which is viable and sustainable. If the existing macro-economic framework is unable to accommodate the most basic elements of the Alliance agenda, it would need to be reworked to bring it in line with the programme adopted by the Alliance.
Alliance approach to processes of governance
The political structures of the Alliance should take responsibility to drive its own programme. However, the locus of decision-making on key political issues has not been in Alliance structures but in individual Ministries. The Alliance only engages with the product.
This has led to conflicting perspectives emerging between the democratic forces in the Executive (Cabinet) and the Legislature (Parliament) and in NEDLAC and other structures on the strategy and content of socio-economic issues. In the absence of a coherent Alliance approach, other forces have sometimes occupied this space. This is a recipe for ongoing conflict and division.
The alternative is for the Alliance to reach an Accord or National Agreement on strategic issues, as well as a programme to implement these at different levels of government. This would clearly bind the Alliance forces to actively pursue this agenda in all areas. The Alliance would openly mobilise people for the implementation and defence of agreed programmes in parliament, NEDLAC and other areas of governance. It would ensure a cooperative approach between government and labour in NEDLAC, rather than NEDLAC being seen as a delaying mechanism or an institution which prevents government from governing.
This ambitious approach involves both collective decision-making and collective responsibility. It also requires a high level of ongoing coordination to ensure the process is managed effectively. It may require dynamic contact between the Alliance Secretariat with the Deputy President and the Chief Whip, Alliance NOBs from time to time and the Alliance Executive.
Re-examining the need for a Reconstruction Accord
One initial conceptualisation of the RDP was that there should be a Reconstruction Accord between COSATU and the ANC. The idea was to have a binding agreement or Pact in terms of which broad policy frameworks would be translated into detailed commitments on how various policy areas would be implemented. In the event, this approach was not pursued and the ANC was elected on a broad RDP mandate.
Limited but important advances have been made. However, serious questions have arisen about whether the RDP vision is being followed in vital areas.
It may be necessary to revisit the need for a pact/ accord/ agreement between COSATU and the ANC or within the Alliance. An Alliance accord would require agreement on the priority tasks of social transformation, government, strategic areas for policy decision, and legislation or other measures needed for implementation. This would need to be an integrated package which provided a solid platform to advance towards the comprehensive implementation of the RDP.
Refusal to consider an Alliance pact or to put forward a viable alternative would be short-sighted.
A national agreement with the ANC presents us with an opportunity to have a joint negotiating position with government when entering into discussions with capital. This could also present an opportunity to the Alliance to bring about a new focus prior to and after the next elections.
Resistance to "social accords" has been largely based on experiences in other countries and fear of no-strike provisions and wage restraint. Any agreement would have to be based on mutual trust, transparency and articulation of our strategic objectives. The masses will also need to be brought on board.
A Social Accord does not necessarily imply wage restraint or no-strike provisions:
Elements of an accord
The issues which form the basis of any national agreement should not be a wish-list, but strategic issues which will tilt the balance of economic power in favour of the popular forces, by giving the democratic state and its supporting institutions, effective leverage over areas of investment, production and delivery. At the same time, they should raise effective incomes and create basic services, particularly for the poorest 70%.
The combination of supply-side measures to boost production; the effect of rising demand in the economy, as a result of economic improvements for the majority; and mechanisms by the state to target investment in job creation, would all be part of a coherent strategy to address the crisis of unemployment, particularly for the youth and rural women. Fiscal and monetary policies would have to be realigned to facilitate this strategy, as would the process of restructuring the public service and parastatals.
Two types of interventions would form the core areas of an Alliance agreement.
It is important to note that in all areas, benefits accrue to working people and the poor across the board. Economic benefits are not limited to the employed, in areas such as health, social welfare, housing etc, which a private sector driven policy would tend to do. Proposals in these areas would clearly debunk the myth that trade unions are only narrowly concerned with the welfare of their own members.
The platform outlined may be missing key elements, or may need to be tightened up. However, it conveys the vision of an integrated platform which could provide the basis for an agreement.
Alliance conception of the economic role of the state
There are a range of views within the Alliance on the state's economic role. The RDP envisaged extensive state intervention in a variety of areas, and a leading role for the state in others.
The Alliance needs to audit areas where the state has significant economic muscle and how this can be harnessed for reconstruction.
A brief survey of the institutions under the control, or potential control of the state and trade unions, reveals that the democratic state and its allies potentially have hundreds of billions of Rands directly or indirectly under their control, to lever transformation in the economy. This includes:
Alliance Accord and negotiations with capital
"Transformation is not possible in a developing country like South Africa - not with our history, our incompetent civil service and inexperienced politicians. One should question whether transformation is necessary at all..." (Leading businessman, Millennium magazine, 1996)
No proposal is being made for COSATU to enter a comprehensive accord with capital, through NEDLAC or any other forum. Rather, specific agreements would be entered into with other stakeholders, including capital, on specific areas, for example training. Alliance partners would go into such negotiations within the comprehensive framework set out by the Alliance Agreement.
This would not be confined to NEDLAC, but would include other multipartite forums such as the NTB, and industry forums.
We should have no illusion that implementation of the Alliance Agreement will be easily accepted by business. It would represent the most serious concrete challenge by the democratic forces to the relations of economic power in the country.
We should not fall into the trap of the quid pro quo ('this for that') line, which suggests that workers have to sacrifice in order to get what is rightfully theirs. It is ludicrous to suggest for example that workers earning below the poverty line should accept a wage freeze, in order to benefit from basic social security and health care. However, there is nothing wrong with negotiating a national productivity agreement, as proposed in 'Social Equity', which links productivity improvements to not only wages, but job creation and investment. The trade union movement favours proposals which will lead to an expansion in the economy, as long as this improves workers' lives.
The development of an Alliance Accord in no way contradicts the process of tripartite negotiations in NEDLAC or other fora.
An Accord would give a new focus to all the efforts of the alliance. It would guide the ANC in government. For the unions it would give a focus to the annual collective bargaining rounds, and for government, organised labour and the community in NEDLAC, it would be the framework for national agreements.
It would be able to win widespread public support, and be the basis to win over sections of business, instead of us constantly acceding to the demands of those who want the government to abandon its election mandate.
Development of COSATU's ability to engage effectively
"The changing situation demands of us to redefine our role. New methods of dealing with problems, demands and expectations will have to be found. While workers in the past may have joined us because of our links with the Congress movement, in the future they will join us primarily because they expect us to safeguard their interest... It will be a sad day for trade unionism if COSATU was to become a sweetheart federation. Our members will do to us what we have done with the old TUCSA unions." (1994 Exco paper)
The proposals in this paper, no matter how good they are, will have no impact unless we seriously focus our organisation on achieving the objectives we have set out. It is useless lamenting about our lack of capacity when we don't effectively utilise the capacity we already have. We need to harness the structures, experience and expertise we have in our ranks. We are not tapping into the wealth of experience which the collective worker leadership has accumulated over the last two decades. We need to 'regear' the organisation for the challenges facing us.
The Federation's structures need to take political responsibility for developing coherent policy options. Good technical research and scenario planning must be guided by the policy framework we are setting for ourselves. The organisation as a whole must take responsibility for going beyond the generality of Congress resolutions, to develop substantial policy proposals which can be placed on the table for the Alliance to debate.
The involvement of our membership is critical in two respects:
The involvement of our membership is vital if the programme we develop is to have long-term legitimacy. We should root the Alliance Accord in an active membership process which not only contributes to its content, but becomes the basis for a continual defence of the programme.
Beyond the shopfloor, we should make resources available to have ongoing forums in the community, embracing our shop stewards and membership, but also members from civics the ANC and SACP, and other community based organisations. A people-driven programme offers an important means of revitalising community structures. If all parts of the democratic movement contribute, a national focus will be brought to the work of all the sections of the community.
Movement for Reconstruction: Congress and various affiliates have made creative proposals ranging from the setting up work brigades to the setting up of a civil society RDP fund, and the donation of working time to the RDP. There needs to be a national campaign by the Alliance to mobilise people around these and other proposals.
We have always maintained that strong organisation is key. While attendance at meetings, marches or stayaways is an important indicator, we should not undermine the strong shopfloor organisation we have as affiliates. While workers may be absent from COSATU activities, they are available for affiliate activities since they relate closely to their day to day needs as workers. The challenge is to link these activities to the macro issues politically and economically. We require affiliate capacity for affiliates to reach their members and to put aside time for discussions of COSATU-linked activities.
The challenge for us is to find creative organisational approaches to mobilise our structures around campaigns for transformation, rather than limiting ourselves to reactive oppositional activity. This needs to involve not only the alliance and the MDM, but even the government. Action will activate our structures.
A joint programme should be concretised in campaigns as a way of involving our members in policy formulation, implementation and struggle. We intend to use the proposals in this document as a basis for mass mobilisation of our members. We also need to use this to rekindle worker participation in the ANC, SACP and civics.
The way forward
This paper has attempted to outline the need for a new programme and strategy for COSATU and the Alliance in taking forward the process of transforming our country.
We have proposed, as the core of this strategy, that:
There is probably a limited window of opportunity allowing such an agreement to be negotiated. There is a danger that the current economic policy direction, and the resultant alienation of the Alliance's constituency, will become so entrenched, as to make the negotiation of such an Agreement impossible.
We therefore need to agree on a number of core issues:
Conclusion
This paper will be presented to all COSATU structures, which are expected to engage in discussion with a view to arriving at a broad agreement at the Exco in February 1997. Those issues not resolved will be debated at the April CEC or the 6th National Congress.
The paper will also be made available to the ANC and the SACP to help them gain sight of the issues we are debating and to factor them into their own internal discussion, whereafter an Alliance process can be set in place.
The social clause - a weapon against globalisation?
Earlier this year, COSATU and its trade union allies concluded a landmark social clause framework agreement with government and business in NEDLAC. The main provisions of the framework agreement are for
But unionists will have some misgivings about the agreement. For instance, the agreement does not firmly make respect for labour standards a condition for international trade.
"We would have preferred a stronger commitment to help us fight the negative effects of globalisation," says SACCAWU's Herbert Mkhize, "but we recognise the obstacles to such a position. It would be unreasonable to expect to achieve this now." While recognising the agreement's shortcomings, labour nevertheless hopes it will signal the beginning of concerted efforts to link South Africa's trade relationships to the promotion of trade union and human rights.
"The danger is that, with liberalisation of world trade and globalisation of the world economy, worker rights will be downgraded to requirements below the basic acceptable levels," said NEDLAC executive director, Jayendra Naidoo, at the signing of the agreement.
By including provisions which ensure fair labour standards and respect for human rights in trade agreements, COSATU and many other trade unions hope that international trade, and the rush for a competitive edge, will not jeopardise basic worker rights. It wants a social clause in bilateral and multi-lateral agreements, such as those concluded under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in regulating international trade.
"Imagine a textile worker in Atlantis, Western Cape," argues SACTWU's Ebrahim Patel "a loyal member of our union, who's told she'll be losing her job because her company cannot produce fabric cheaper than a textile mill located in a free trade zone in Sri Lanka, where trade unions are forbidden by law from organising."
With the advent of the WTO, unions around the world have pushed for the adoption of a common platform of minimum, internationally-accepted labour standards. Unions have argued this in the belief that the rapid integration of links between production, trade and investment in the world economy should not benefit those countries who do not respect worker rights, nor disadvantage those who do. They talk of "levelling the playing fields".
Opposition
The campaign is led mainly by national trade union centres in northern countries affiliated to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (IC