Volume 6 No 1 - February / March 1997 
Letters
Worker News
Unions mobilise for the June 2 strike
Cosatu’s declaration to bury apartheid poverty
Setting the stage for Cosatu’s congress
Alliance looks at closing the gaps
Parliamentary Update
Coming to grips with the NCOP
Union interns learn about parliament
Outcry over reduced child support
Public works can boost job creation
Sector News
Local government
Councillor Gwede Mantashe speaks about making a better
life where we live
Building Masakhane in Uitenhage
Samwu’s plan for public sector delivery
Anti-privatisation campaign picks up
Union investments
Gender Agenda
Popular economics series
International
Regions
Cosatu calls on all workers to embark on a 24-hour strike on 2 June 1997. The strike, which was originally planned for 12 May 1997, is in support of our demands for a progressive Basic Conditions of Employment Bill. Our demands are:
These core demands have been on the table since April last year when negotiations started.
By November last year it was clear that there was no possibility of a settlement between us and business on all the core issues. As workers, we all know that the only language that employers understand apart from negotiations is mass action.
The February Exco decided to give them a dose of this medicine. We had hoped against all odds that they will put forward proposals which would help break the deadlock. To date their proposals remain as follows:
There is a possibility of us reaching an agreement with the government on all areas except a 40-hour working week and variation. Any worker who wants decent basic conditions of employment will have to contribute a shift for a successful strike action.
Our message to employers and the government must be loud and clear. Only an agreement can stop the strike. Since there is no agreement, we have no choice but to say: Sizakudibana etshatshalazeni. Sizakubona ukuba ngubani ozakulila kuqala. Phambili nge 24 hour strike. Asijiki!
— MBHAZIMA SHILOWA
What are your views on the role of Cosatu, the budget, the tripartite alliance programme, mass action, the future of the unions, housing or crime? Write to The Shopsteward about issues being debated in your union and elsewhere.
Send your letters to:
The Shopsteward
PO Box 32022
Braamfontein 2017
I would like to respond to the questions raised by the September Commission in an insert in The Shopsteward magazine of October/November 1996.
It is causing confusion amongst workers and the working class as a whole. It is causing confusion in that it asks the working class how should Cosatu respond if we find ourselves in one of the scenarios. It talks about basic needs of the people while on the other hand it points out the competitive pressure of the global economy. The writer is further causing confusion amongst Cosatu members and the working class by talking about six uncertainties which will affect us.
Is the leadership in Cosatu asking the working class to explore this capitalist agenda? Are comrades saying: workers forget, we the leadership are not confident enough to defeat the capitalist, we are joining them but we need you (the working class) or are you giving us this misleading agenda so that at the end we may say: "there is no alternative (Tina) but to join the capitalists?
In March 1992, Cosatu held an Economic Policy Conference. A resolution taken stated that Cosatu economic policy aims to promote the working class as the dominant political and economic power. This means that Cosatu will fight for a socialist society as a means of meeting the people’s basic needs. Then comrade leadership, the question is, what happened? Why a sudden change of direction to the right? Are you saying there is no conflict of interest between the working class and the capitalists?
My view on the September Scenarios is simple and straight forward:
Our approach must be guided by the 1992 resolution and the RDP. The resolution says the working class will be empowered politically and economically so that they achieve a socialist society. We can only do that through campaigns. Cosatu leadership duties are to lead, co-ordinate campaigns and struggle and eventually unity amongst workers will grow into an unstoppable political force. We do not have to wait until the workers’ dissatisfaction runs high amongst Cosatu.
Cosatu is failing to do the above due to its partnership with the capitalist in trying to rebuild the capitalist economy through the tripartite alliance and Nedlac.
To get rid of the capitalist agenda we must break the alliance. If we break the alliance, we will be able to achieve the following:
If this is not a solution, how are we going to resolve this issue, taking into consideration the Reserve Bank powers:
This is the World Bank and International Monetary Fund orders to influence and implement their strategy. Cosatu and its alliance are guided by the above conditions. Those who say: "There is no alternative" (Tina) confirm that they belong to the right. The point that will take us to socialism is that a class struggle is not a legal battle, it is a political struggle.
Our leaders are not elected to become our teachers, the only teacher we have is history. There is no way you will introduce the competitive pressure of the global economy to us and we support you. We know that the capitalist system gives the wealthy class around the globe veto powers over the economic policies. The approach here is to fight the system and break those veto powers. We cannot do that through boardroom meetings at Nedlac or lobbying at the Alliance meetings. We cannot do that with overlapping of leaders between the ANC, SACP and Cosatu.
Cosatu rejects the ANC’s macro-economic framework, but their response is only tokenism and very weak. This is not a mistake. It is that capitalist strategy which our leaders are trying to sell to us.
The right name for this global economic pressure is that the working class must compete with the working class all the over the world. It means that workers in a company must compete amongst themselves and then compete with other companies in the same country and then compete with other workers in other countries for the sake of profit, which benefits only the capitalists.
I am explaining the meaning of neo-liberalism and their institutions so that we are not misled by this promised Skorokoro and Gravy Land discussion. We must start revisiting our agenda and introduce it at our 1997 Cosatu National Congress for direction to the left.
The global agenda of the capitalist is a hard pill to swallow for workers. The idea of doing with less so that the capitalist can have more is a crazy idea. If anyone within Cosatu thinks there is a better deal out of the tripartite alliance or Nedlac he is crazy too. They must be reminded that the capitalists are not bothered to democratise politics so long as the economy is not.
We formed Cosatu not to patch up or build the capitalist ruling class so that we starve, less often, less severely. We are building a Cosatu that will remake the country, even the world. I have not pointed to most issues that are causing dissatisfaction among Cosatu members which Cosatu leaders are partly rejecting or supporting — privatisation, Labour Relations Act, Labour Standards, GATT conditions and RDP.
Moses Manganyi,
Numsa
Wits Central West regional vice-chairperson
The September Commission scenarios are about different situations in which Cosatu may find itself in future — not that which Cosatu itself desires. The idea was to stimulate debate about Cosatu’s strategic response to these scenarios. To quote cde Sam Shilowa quoting Karl Marx: "We change the world but not under conditions of their own choosing".
Many in Cosatu — including your own union’s national congress — would disagree with your views on the tripartite alliance. It may be useful to read Cosatu’s proposed programme for the tripartite alliance, which has been widely distributed within the federation. It counters the slogan, There Is No Alternative, with its own one: There has to Be an Alternative (Theba). We invite other comrades to respond. — Ed
I would love to make a little contribution to these debates which are honestly searching for the concrete and correct way of addressing the problems left by the capitalist apartheid system.
The gains and achievements of the previous struggles have brought us into this present challenging situation. This is a higher stage of our struggle, the stage of political and economic reconstruction. It is the responsibility of each and every comrade to be creatively and actively involved in this development war. It is we who have to determine how to live. Therefore it is a challenge of every comrade to fight this dependency syndrome and contribute in development of our country and its people, particularly the working class, the poorest of the poor and womenfolk.
It is imperative therefore to know your past so that you can understand the present situation in order to have a good analysis for the future. If we fail to be vigilant in this fluid situation and depend on recklessness or an appetite for militancy, we may end up compromising our strategic objective.
Our strategic focus as the labour movement is to make sure that the workers, who are a very important component of the working class, understand and are conscious of their unity and solidarity. They must defend the RDP at all costs so that we can be sure that the most radical and progressive interpretation of the RDP is not compromised against the national and global liberal agenda. This means bolstering its people-centredness and working class content, empowerment, collectiveness and solidarity.
Foreign investments though desirable as a catalyst for development, cannot in and of itself develop the poor people. The importance of capital and technology can, if appropriately and carefully channelled, expedite the development process. Sustainability can only be achieved through the development of local participation, understanding, initiative and self empowerment.
People should be encouraged to work with the knowledge they have, from their own experience they can develop strategies to change their immediate situation. The basis for the building of our broad vision, socialism, is the transfer of political power from the capitalist to the working class. Such a transfer of power requires skills and a full understanding of the forces we are faced with. It cannot just be wishful thinking and then the capitalists would agree to such a transfer.
Let us struggle for a future without capitalist, suffering, hunger and without bosses. A workers’ future. A socialist future. Workers power and peoples property.
Thobile Maso, Samwu, Eastern Cape
What have we done — Senzeni Na?
It is funny but no laughing at all
Tears of suffering slowly rolling to the ground
Many are poor
Many are without food
Many are without jobs
What have we done — Senzeni na?
The bosses are fat
The rich people are the bosses
They own the factories, they own mines
They own wealth, they own power of our existence
What have we done — Senzeni na?
The workers are hungry
The poor are the workers
They build houses, but they sleep in shacks
They make cars, but they die without owning one
They clean university offices, but never get education
They dig gold in the bowls of the earth, but get none
They cook food, but they eat dogmor
What have we done — Senzeni na?
The bosses are hiring and firing
They give workers survival wages
They take the profits
It is a cat and mouse situation
They never be friends
The bosses are parasites sucking, sucking, sucking
The blood of the workers
What have we done — Senzeni na?
Workers are many, bosses are few
Workers do all the work, bosses take all the money
Workers live hand to mouth, bosses live on profits
Workers are exploited, bosses expropriate production
Brake the chains united we stand
Socialism is the future build it now
What have we done — Senzeni na?
Senzeni na — What have we done?
Thobile Maso,
Samwu,
Eastern Cape
Cosatu is more determined than ever to go ahead with its 24-hour strike on June 2 and has warned business that any attempts to block the action will escalate conflict.
The federation’s May 12 mass action was postponed after a shock Labour Appeal Court ruling that Cosatu had not complied with section 77 (1)(c) of the Labour Relations Act, which provides that the matter giving rise to the dispute be considered by Nedlac. This is despite the fact that negotiations on the bill’s core issues have been going on since April last year and that Cosatu gave Nedlac more than two months notice of its intention to embark on the action.
While the judgment did not prohibit the action, it removed protection under the LRA for workers participating in the strike. Cosatu national office bearers’ (NOBs) decision to postpone the strike to June 2 was endorsed by the federation’s executive committee meeting (Exco) on 12 May and delegates at the federation’s policy conference on 17 May.
The policy conference reiterated the federation’s core demands for a new Basic Conditions of Employment Act and resolved to mobilise union members for the June 2 strike action.
Delegates resolved that the strike would go ahead, even if employers take the matter to court once again. Instead of addressing the core issues, such a step would escalate conflict and have a negative impact on industrial relations. "This time, regardless of the outcome, the action will go ahead," said Cosatu general secretary Mbhazima Shilowa.
He was speaking after last minute negotiations in Nedlac between government, business and labour reached final deadlock. After five hours of negotiations, the parties agreed that an impasse had been reached and that any further progress would require a revision of their mandates.
This opened the way for Cosatu to give Nedlac a second notice of their intention to embark on a protected socio-economic strike on June 2, in compliance with the stipulated 14-days notice period.
Union leaders have condemned the Labour Appeal Court judgement, which referred to the strike as having a negative impact on the country’s economy, as based on political considerations.
Many see the judgement as potentially undermining mass action as a way of putting pressure on negotiating parties or to mobilise members alongside the negotiations process. The implication is that a deadlock first has to be reached, a dispute declared and at least 14-days notice given before a protected strike can take place.
Cosatu has launched a petition campaign among union members and is taking the issue to the Constitutional Court. The petition notes that the judgement has implications for the right to peaceful protest and the constitutional right to strike, assemble and to picket. It rejects the Labour Appeal Court ruling as inconsistent with the exercise of democratic rights; being overly technical and formalistic, thereby allowing employers to use delaying tactics in Nedlac; and as seriously undermining the right to apply pressure by way of socio-economic protest action.
The petition resolves to "continue to protect our rights to peaceful protest action, to support Cosatu’s Constitutional Court challenge of the Labour Appeal Court ruling and to intensify Cosatu’s mass action programme".
Responding to the Labour Appeal Court judgement, Cosatu noted that one of the court’s three judges, Judge Nicholson, found that Cosatu had complied with the provisions of section 77 (1) in all respects.
Cosatu said Nicholson criticised Business South Africa (BSA) for its delay in bringing the action, for its conduct in Nedlac, for introducing red herrings, for claiming it had no mandate, and for evading the issues raised by labour.
Nicholson also found it "strange" that BSA claimed to have no mandate in meetings held in April 1997, on matters which had been the subject of negotiations for more than a year.
Cosatu said that, since government released its green paper on employment standards in February 1996, numerous meetings had taken place to negotiate a statute which would provide for a floor of basic conditions of employment to all workers, in particular the most vulnerable ones — unorganised workers and women workers.
Cosatu had attended more than 11 formal meetings at Nedlac and a large number of bilaterals with both business and government.
"At the end of eight months of intense negotiations, it became clear that there were major differences between the parties on the main objects of the statute. Apart from a number of detailed issues raised by Cosatu, we also raised the fact that there were fundamental differences which remained unresolved after many months of negotiation on the following core issues:
In 1996, when deadlock was reached in the negotiation, a detailed report was given to Cosatu’s Exco. Affiliates were asked to discuss the matter and return with positions in the new year. On 11-12 February 1997, the Exco deliberated on the matter and reached a decision.
On 18 February 1997, Cosatu notified Nedlac of its intention to proceed with protest action beginning on 24 February 1997 and culminating in a general strike on 12 May 1997 unless the CEC resolved otherwise. This was followed by a letter on 21 April 1997 which reiterated Cosatu’s position on the disputed areas save for the issue of Sunday work. This second notice amended the form of the action to marches and rallies beginning at 12h00, and starting from affiliate offices to specified meeting points.
Cosatu said its views had been fully vindicated by Judge Nicholson’s comments.
"We reject the argument that the onus was on Cosatu to ensure that the issue was considered by Nedlac. Our responsibility was to notify Nedlac and to hold ourselves open for meetings to consider the matter. "This Cosatu complied with fully and completely in that:
"This surely should be up to the other parties to attempt a settlement. The judgement’s effect is to reward them for stalling tactics. It is ironic that the new LRA was drafted precisely to avoid parties resorting to technical point scoring and stalling tactics," Cosatu said.
"As an organisation we remain resolute in our commitment to mobilise members and to win the demands raised by Cosatu at the negotiations. In fact, we are concerned that the tactics applied by BSA will lead to the hardening of the views of our members.
"We reiterate our position that the fact that BSA brought this action against Cosatu and its members indicates that they have no intention to settle these issues during negotiations.
"BSA has not achieved anything with their action. They should instead devote their resources and energy to granting the very reasonable demands of workers as expressed in the negotiations. We see the judgement as having merely the effect of delaying the execution of the action.
"Cosatu gives notice of our intention to challenge the court’s interpretation of the right to strike including the exercise of the right to protest in pursuit of socio-economic interest in the Constitutional Court."
Cosatu’s 12 May Exco mandated the federation’s regional structures to hold discussions with progressive formations, including ANC members in the NCOP, to win support for Cosatu’s demands. Cosatu’s NOBs will seek urgent meetings to inform the ANC parliamentary caucus, the Alliance and other progressive formations of the federation’s positions and revised programme of action. J
Cosatu’s May "Burying Apartheid Poverty" conference has adopted wideranging policy for implementation by the federation’s structures. More than 200 union delegates at the conference heard numerous input papers and participated in commissions on a range of areas related to the living wage, social wage and employment creation. The conference resolved to go ahead with the 2 June 24-hour strike on the Employment Standards Bill.
Other conference resolutions included:
"For this programme to succeed it will require the support of all of our structures and membership. We therefore need to engage in communication strategy and mobilisation of our members and the public in support of this issues. Furthermore, we need tighter co-ordination of policies within the Federation, with the Alliance and Sanco. Issues requiring discussions in Nedlac should be tabled in the Nedlac labour caucus as well as the Alliance," the conference declaration said. J
The release of Cosatu’s September Commission report in June is expected to spark robust debate within unions as the federation gears up for its sixth national congress to be held at the World Trade Centre outside Johannesburg from 16-19 September.
The Commission report is expected to be a lengthy document which looks at "strategic leverage areas" open to the federation in meeting the political and socio-economic challenges. These include the federation’s vision and strategies, building organisation and building capacity. The report is expected to put forward recommendations on the federation’s vision and strategies in the political sphere, the socio-economic sphere, public sector transformation and the workplace.
The report’s release follows an extensive consultation process in the federation. Last year Workers Forums were held in Cosatu regions to give workers and union structures the opportunity to make their voices heard and to give their submissions to the Commission. This year a range of workshops and seminars have been held to further fine tune the commissions recommendations.
The commission’s report will form the backdrop to union debates in preparation for the Cosatu national congress.
A key proposal is expected to focus on restructuring the federation, particularly its leadership structures, to equip the federation to more effectively carry out its programmes and meet its goals.
Discussions on the type of federation required have pointed to the need for a tighter, more coherent federation with an expanded capacity at national level.
Cosatu office bearers have raised concerns that Cosatu activities and campaigns are often left to the federation’s officials and regions, instead of affiliates themselves. Leaders have also argued that Cosatu policy, determined jointly by affiliate unions, should be binding on all affiliates.
"The transition has opened up great potential for us to intervene, drive and shape transformation at many levels of our society," said commission head, Cosatu vice president Connie September.
"But this requires us to engage with a tremendous range of forces, institutions and forums on a multitude of policy issues."
The commission will propose political and socio-economic programmes for the federation which will require that Cosatu interact with the Alliance, government, in Nedlac, and engage on public sector transformation, the restructuring of state assets, industrial policy and on workplace restructuring. The federation will also have to engage in and impact on developments at a provincial and local level and build alliances with civil society organisations.
However, current capacity would not allow for effective implementation of these ambitious programmes, particularly if Cosatu wishes to go beyond simply reacting to government and business agendas and effect the implementation of more proactive programmes for transformation.
Restructuring to improve capacity would be necessary to ensure strong, mandated centralised structures to:
Commission workshops have identified a of lack of strong, dynamic working structures that can act as an engine in driving Cosatu’s programme. In addition, the federation has limited implementation and coordination structures.
For example, Cosatu’s has only two full-time national office bearers. Its Exco, which meets six times a year, makes decisions on implementing policy and monitors this, but does not directly participate in implementation or coordination.
Another weakness is a lack of interaction between the centre and affiliates. Cosatu’s Exco and CEC are large and unwieldy and do not meet often enough to impact effectively on rapidly changing conditions. The federation’s regional and local structures and programmes lack affiliate participation.
These and other problems have prompted the commission to put forward options for restructuring the federation. Some union leaders have argued that the federation should adopt a unitary structure with industrial union arms such as Cosatu mining union and Cosatu metal union. This would entail a highly centralised structure with Cosatu-coordinated collective bargaining and industrial action. Another option would be a mixture of a federal and a unitary structure with greater powers for Cosatu regions and locals.
However, the commission is expected to recommend a third option in which Cosatu reforms its structures and practices to strengthen the federation’s capacity and central coordination and develops a tighter working relationship between affiliates and this central engine.
A five-tier national structure is under consideration:
On women’s leadership in the federation, the congress is expected to face a proposal that a quota system be implemented as a way of ensuring more women in the federation’s top leadership structures. J
The next edition of The Shopsteward will carry detailed reports on the September Commission’s recommendations.
Presidential submissionPresident Nelson Mandela is expected to make an oral submission to the September Commission in Cape Town on 30 May. This will be one of the last submissions to the commission and follows hundreds of submissions received over the past year from workers, Cosatu and affiliate structures, as well as alliance organisations and other non-union sources. |
A Tripartite Alliance Summit in April resolved that the Alliance still had a central role to play in the country’s transformation, despite continued disagreements on macro-economic strategy.
The summit was attended by the ANC’s National Working Committee, Cosatu’s Executive Committee and the SACP’s Central Committee.
Other alliance meetings have taken place at the level of the Alliance Secretariat and joint national office bearers (NOBs). But this was the first meeting attended by the three organisations’ top leadership structures.
According to Cosatu assistant general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, the Summit took stock of developments since the April 1994 elections.
Discussion centred on transformation and progress in meeting RDP objectives. Joint campaigns such as Masakhane and the anti-crime campaign as well as the strength of alliance structures were also assessed.
The summit looked at how to improve working relations at national, provincial and local level as well as a joint media strategy.
Cosatu presented its perspective on transformation and its proposed programme for the Alliance. However the federation stopped short of proposing a social accord as this is still under discussion in the federation.
Acknowledging organisational weaknesses on the ground, the three organisations resolved to help build each other’s grassroots structures and strengthen joint campaigns.
Not surprisingly, government’s macro-economic strategy, Gear, emerged as a key issue bedeviling Alliance relations. While the ANC continued to present Gear and the RDP as two sides of the same coin, Cosatu argued the opposite. The federation said the two were not compatible and that RDP objectives could not be met with Gear as a macro-economic strategy.
The Summit agreed on a process to look at the matter afresh. This would include a joint NOBs meeting which would attempt to reduce the gaps in approach and present a report to a Special Alliance Summit planned for June this year.
Build the alliance
Despite these differences, the Summit agreed that the Alliance still had a crucial role to play. The three organisations remained bound by the need to deepen the gains of the National Democratic Revolution and to achieve RDP objectives. They agreed that a split in the Alliance could only favour those forces which sought to reverse gains made so far.
"We agreed unanimously that the alliance should seek to resolve differences and emerge as a united force," said Vavi.
However, it was acknowledged that, while Alliance organisations agreed broadly on transformation and should strive towards a common position, the components remained independent organisations with different emphases.
Vavi said Cosatu acknowledged at the Summit that a number of government ministries had made important gains in areas such as health care delivery. However, the federation strongly opposed policies put forward in areas such as transport, which in Cosatu’s view deviates from the RDP.
This was particularly the case where policies were formulated in government departments and not in the ANC. "When the ANC discusses policy, it is bound to be biased to the working people, but when government decides on policy, it is more likely to favour big business and capital," Vavi said. This was the case with Gear, which was formulated by government and then presented for adoption by the ANC two months later. J
In the last edition of The Shopsteward, Cosatu general secretary Sam Shilowa spoke about the importance of Cosatu regions monitoring provincial legislation. "We have tended to focus primarily at the national level to the detriment of the provincial level," he said.
The introduction of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) makes it imperative that Cosatu now faces up to the challenge. The federation needs to develop a greater awareness of developments and debates in provincial legislatures and in the NCOP.
This process has already begun. At the beginning of March, the Cosatu parliamentary office hosted the first meeting with several Cosatu regions around the NCOP.
This was the beginning of a process to inform Cosatu regions about the NCOP, its functions and implications. The parliamentary office, in conjunction with the regions, was able to start the process of identifying opportunities for Cosatu and developing a programme for interacting with the NCOP.
The existence of the NCOP has vital implications for the federation. It will have to work out how to participate effectively in the public participation process in the provincial and national legislation in the interests of the working class. An understanding of and greater emphasis on the dynamics at a provincial level will be required, including ensuring that provinces are part of determining national legislative priorities and that their perspectives are included in these.
What is the NCOP?
The NCOP is a component of parliament introduced by the new constitution. It replaces the former senate. Its existence will ensure that the interests and dynamics of provinces are brought into the national legislative framework. All legislation affecting provinces will now need to be taken into account in the national parliament. Legislation affecting provinces will be referred to the NCOP, affording provinces an opportunity to impact and input into the process. The NCOP will provide a forum for Cosatu and other institutions of civil society to present their opinions and perspectives on issues that will affect provinces.
How is it constituted?
The NCOP has 90 delegates — ten from each province. These include six permanent delegates per province, the provincial premier or a designated substitute from the provincial legislature and three other special delegates.
On all legislation directly affecting provinces there is an allocation of one vote per province. On laws that will not affect provinces, one vote per delegate is allowed. Two types of legislation can be identified:
There is a process of tagging these two types of legislation, which will determine the involvement by provinces. As regards section 76 legislation, there will be a long process of mandating by provincial legislatures. This will give Cosatu regions an opportunity to interact directly with the provinces to ensure that these mandates reflect worker interests.
Local governments are allowed non-voting participation in the NCOP.
A series of workshops is being planned with all Cosatu regions on the NCOP and the legislative process. These will aim to empower Cosatu regions to interact with provincial legislatures and the NCOP.
The workshops will also aim to build an understanding of the legislative process among regional Cosatu office bearers and discuss how the federation can improve its impact on legislation and government policy, at national and provincial level. J
Cosatu recently secured funding to deploy comrades from affiliates as parliamentary interns in Cosatu’s parliamentary office in Cape Town.
Comrades so deployed will assist in advancing the federation’s programme in parliament through, amongst other things, monitoring parliamentary processes and reporting on relevant developments in the legislative assemblies and in the parliamentary committees. They will also be given an opportunity to input into Cosatu submissions made to parliament.
The interns will be taken through an intense one-day induction to parliament and will then gain hands-on experience in monitoring parliamentary procedures, particularly those affecting their union. This will include monitoring the workings of parliamentary portfolio committees and NCOP select committees as well as sittings of the national assembly and the NCOP. The interns will be required to prepare daily reports on parliamentary proceedings and to produce a comprehensive report at the end of their term as well as a proposal for a legislative strategy for their union.
Through this exercise Cosatu hopes to ensure:
l that the federation will be able to develop a wide group of comrades with experience and understanding of governance and the legislative process;
l that opportunities can be identified for affiliates to interface with the parliamentary process; and
l that, after returning to work in their respective affiliates, these comrades will take responsibility for maintaining ongoing relations between their affiliate and the Cosatu parliamentary office.
Two interns, each from a different affiliate, will be deployed at a time, for a 4-6 week period. The programme is due to start in May.
The interns will help strengthen the Cosatu parliamentary office, which has recently expanded to a four-person operation with the employment of an additional researcher, Oupa Bodibe.
Cosatu has joined a range of organisations in condemning government’s plans to drastically reduce child and family support payments.
The federation made its views known in a submission on 21 April to the parliamentary committee on Welfare. The committee decided to hold the hearings despite indications from welfare minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi that she was committed to implementing the new system. The changes flow from the report of the Lund Committee on Child and Family Support.
Last year Cosatu’s submission on the Social Welfare White Paper in November last year called for a restructuring of the social welfare system as a whole.
During the hearings, organisations such as CWIU, the Black Sash and the Community Law Centre opposed government plans to reduce child support payments from R135 per child and a parental grant of R430 to a mere R75 per child with no parental grant.
The cut-back will see a reduction of over R3,5 bn in government expenditure on child support. The organisations told the Welfare Committee that the cut-back runs counter to government’s commitment to the consultative creation of a comprehensive social security system, as outlined in the White Paper on Social Welfare.
In its submission, Cosatu argued that the reduction in social expenditure represented an over-zealous implementation by the welfare ministry of Gear’s commitment to a reduced budget deficit. A reformed child support system, aimed at bringing equity to a racially skewed poverty relief mechanism, could be implemented without such a drastic reduction in the benefit. For example, a grant of R135 per month, aimed at all children under six years of age with a care-giver earning less than R800 per month, would be feasible without large increases in government expenditure.
Cosatu urged the parliamentary committee "to do all in its power to ensure that reforms of the child support system contribute to the progressive realisation of a comprehensive social security system, which will serve as an effective safety net for all those in need of such assistance".
The federation noted in its submission that the negative impact of the proposals is likely to be much greater for women than for men. This is because female-headed households have a 70 percent poverty rate compared to a 43,6 percent poverty rate amongst families with a resident male head.
According to Cosatu, instead of increasing government’s commitment to child and family support through bringing greater equality, the unintended consequence of the new proposals would be to reduce government child and family support as government’s overall transfers to children in need would have declined.
"It is politically unacceptable for government to contemplate the implementation of a system which is likely to lead to the rolling over of a poverty relief grant," Cosatu said.
Cut-backs would fly in the face of the constitution’s commitment to "the progressive realisation" of a right to social security (s27) and the constitution’s guaranteed protection of the rights of children to "basic nutrition, shelter, basic health care services and social services" (s28). Reduced spending on child and family support would also contradict commitments in the Social Welfare White Paper to establish a comprehensive social security system.
Cosatu warned that the hasty implementation of the proposals before there is a clear understanding of how child and family support should fit into the overall post-apartheid social security system, is a recipe for disaster. Such a move would also contradict government policy to embark on a process of broad consultation on the establishment of a comprehensive social security net.
According to the White Paper: "The government is committed to the provision of a comprehensive national social security system... built on two pillars. Firstly, it will require comprehensive social assistance to those without other means of support, such as a general means tested social assistance scheme. Secondly, it will require the restructuring of social insurance, including the retirement industry, unemployment insurance and health insurance. There is scope for less fragmentation and improved efficiency in the social insurance system.
"The creation of an effective social security system requires integrated inter-departmental and inter-Ministerial planning and coordination, in consultation with civil society, labour business and other stakeholders."
In Cosatu’s view, an integrated approach is needed which takes into account the effect restructuring of one element of the social security system has on other elements of the system.
Cosatu asked that the portfolio committee call upon the minister to:
Towards the end of last year, public works minister Jeff Radebe produced a Green Paper titled "Public Works Towards the 21st Century". As a Green Paper reflects only a draft statement of government policy, public comment on the proposals has been called for so that a White Paper on public works, which will have the status of official government policy, can be finalised.
Cosatu made a submission on the Green Paper on 21 April. This was informed by the federation’s long-standing position that an effective public works programme should serve as a vital component of the RDP’s commitment to job creation and infrastructural delivery.
One problem with the Green Paper, in Cosatu’s view, is that it lacks clear conceptual direction on how government plans to organise public works programmes. There are indications that community-based public works programmes, which are organised directly by the public works department (PWD), are to be deprioritised as they are planned for only three provinces, rather than all provinces as before.
There is also no clear strategy on how to use government’s towering status in the construction industry — public authorities account for over 50% of all construction contracts in South Africa each year — to boost employment levels, and the delivery of housing and infrastructure through effective contracting and the encouragement of labour intensive techniques.
Cosatu therefore proposes that the Green Paper be amended to ensure that the White Paper maps out a clear and effective line of march for the implementation of public works programmes. It is suggested that this be built on two pillars:
Cosatu’s submission reiterated proposals for large-scale public sector intervention to address the legacy of underdevelopment and unemployment outlined in labour’s document, Social Equity and Job Creation — the Key to a Stable Future.
"We propose an accelerated programme of public works in the provision of electricity, piped water supply, sanitation, child care facilities and health care clinics to black areas. Programmes to provide roads and major dam and canal works, and to address telecommunication inadequacies, should be put into place. This entails a major upgrade of urban infrastructure, and provision of rural infrastructure," the document states.
"Such a programme will lead to increased employment in the short term, but crucially, it is a fundamental part of improving the performance of the urban and rural economy."
Cosatu’s submission to the PWD welcomed the Green Paper’s recognition of the PWD’s role in job creation but expressed concern that it doesn’t outline a clear implementation strategy for this.
According to Cosatu, the Green Paper’s lack of clarity rests on "the confusion of macroeconomic assumptions with the ultimate socio-economic objectives of government".
Under the heading, "Meeting government’s socio-economic objectives", the Green Paper cites making the PWD "a leaner, cost effective, efficient and client focussed service provider, thereby conforming with governments policies on fiscal discipline and good governance". It goes on to focus on outsourcing and commercialisation of PWD functions and fiscal discipline.
"The primary RDP objectives of the PWD — job creation and social development — are forgotten and replaced by macroeconomic targets as set out in Gear," says Cosatu. "This reflects the slippage in government policy, especially since the adoption of Gear, where the ultimate socio-economic objectives of government policy have increasingly been replaced by intermediate economic objectives such as deficit reduction and fiscal discipline. This obsession appears to have tinted the spectacles of the drafters of the Green Paper."
Cosatu says this policy direction will increasingly thrust the PWD and government as a whole into contracting its capacity and outsourcing its functions to the private sector. Clearly this would spell disaster for the government’s ability to play its developmental role.
Community Based Public Works Programme
Cosatu called on government, rather than scaling down public works programmes, to formalise and expand its commitment to CBPWP’s.
This was essential to increased job creation, the federation said. It would also extend a social safety-net, through some level of wage income, for the most vulnerable sections of the South African population, who are least likely to find jobs. While generating employment, CBPWP’s can assist in improving water supplies, building roads, extending electricity provision, sanitation, childcare facilities, health clinics, planting trees for environmental reclamation and improved soil conservation.
A central priority for government should also be to create an enabling environment for increased labour intensive investment, by both the public and private sectors, in construction and infrastructure.
"Unlike CBPWP’s which would aim to create a safety-net through the provision of otherwise unavailable wage-earning opportunities, the objective of the national Public Works Programme (PWP) would be a process and policy framework aiming to transform infrastructural delivery and the construction industry," Cosatu argued.
It called for amendments in the Green Paper to commit the PWD to play:
An example of the incoherence in government planning is that the latest draft of the Department of Constitutional Development’s Municipal Infrastructure Investment Framework (MIIF) makes no reference to the use of labour intensive techniques aimed at ensuring that infrastructure delivery will also result in effective employment generation. This is despite the fact that Gear explicitly states that the "employment impact of these [infrastructural] programmes will depend crucially on the extent to which labour intensive construction techniques are adopted".
"If this situation is allowed to persist, it is likely to result in a huge missed opportunity for job creation," Cosatu argued.
Over the past two months, workers in Cosatu affiliates have been gearing up for the annual collective bargaining round following conferences, meetings and seminars to formulate key demands to be presented to employers.
Unions are confident that adequate preparations have been made for what promises to be a tough round of negotiations. While wage demands, closing of the apartheid wage gap and grading dominate the agenda, a number of unions are also raising demands linked to job security, maternity and paternity leave, training and benefits.
Numsa
Numsa’s national bargaining conference from 3-6 April agreed on the following core demands:
The first round of annual negotiations with engineering employer association Seifsa began at the end of April. Numsa put forward its demand for an inflation rate increase plus a 12% hike for the bottom grades and 8% for higher grades. Seifsa’s offer was a miserable 6% increase.
According to Numsa information officer Dumisa Ntuli, the union rejected the bosses’ offer which was way below the 10,1% inflation rate.
On a demand for 200 hours of training per person per year, the bosses complained that training is expensive and that the union’s demand was not practical while training modules were being set up. "How do you compete internationally when workers have no training?" asked Victor Kgalema, Numsa’s training co-ordinator.
Employers agreed to participate in a joint investigation childcare facilities. But they were adamant that Numsa’s demand to outlaw labour brokers was not legally achievable. They instead proposed a special sub-committee to address abuse by labour brokers.
Employers and unions also failed to agree on the demand for union control over benefit funds. "The money is deferred wages of workers. We do not want employers to tell us how we should spend that money," said Numsa’s Elias Monage. But employers have so far refused to budge, saying the present set up of 50-50 control is working well.
The engineering industry has been particularly hard hit by job losses, from 450 000 workers in 1982 to 250 000 at present. Numsa wants employers to negotiate work reorganisation with employment security. The union says management should give them access to information, to discuss their strategic plans with unions and to give six months’ notice of the introduction of new technology. But employers have been adamant that there should not be negotiations on this, merely consultation.
NUM
Priority demands agreed on by delegates at the Num collective bargaining seminar included wages, job security and an end to job discrimination. A multi-pronged approach will be adopted including collective bargaining, fighting for a legislated minimum and the Employment Standards Commission in the mining industry.
Attempts to close the apartheid wage gap in the mining industry took the form of a three-legged wage demand to address disparities between white and blue collar workers. This includes: a minimum wage of R1 200 a month; a living wage of R1 800 a month; and a 20% increase in actual wage for wages above R1 800. In addition, the union wants the collapse of grades 1 to 4 into one grade and wage negotiations to be conducted for each category. The union would then negotiate larger percentages for the lowest paid workers.
Delegates also looked at ways to end job discrimination. They resolved that workers who do the same job must get the same pay and that all jobs should be regraded in the long term based on a new job grading system that treats the members fairly.
"In the short term, anomalies must be addressed," said the resolution "especially those that give better conditions to whites who do the same or less work."
Other matters discussed at the seminar were health care for mineworkers and their families and housing.
Sactwu
Around 200 Sactwu shopstewards from around the country met in Port Elizabeth in March to finalise demands for the textile, clothing and retail sectors. The core demands include the following:
Delegates gave their full support to Cosatu’s mass action on the Basic Conditions of Employment Bill. "It is an insult for the bosses and the government to expect us to work on Sundays at normal rates of pay," said Sactwu president Amon Ntuli. "Even time and a half as proposed by the government is unacceptable. Sactwu members will have to take their place in mobilising to win our rights."
Sadtu
Sadtu and other employee organisations walked out of Education Labour Relations Council negotiations at the beginning of May following a deadlock over salaries and rationalisation.
Sadtu accused the government of deviating from its commitments by providing only R6,8 billion instead of R11,3 billion to achieve broadbanding. The union claimed this had already been tampered with and that only R3,2 billion was now available for public servants. Education would receive only R1,2 billion of this, amounting to a 7% increase, which is well below the inflation rate.
"It is our view that the broadbanding concept is a sham and that the state is shifting away from the spirit and letter of the agreement," the union said. It accused the government of an unwillingness to provide sufficient information on savings made through rationalisation.
"This has forced the union to stage a walkout and to go back to our membership for further consultation, including on industrial action.
"Unfortunately, this is a recipe for further destabilisation at a time when both parties should be working towards enhancing the culture of learning and teaching in the country."
Sadtu general secretary Thulas Nxesi said the union would return to wage negotiations only when the government was prepared to offer inflation-related increases for teachers. Sadtu would continue negotiations on issues other than wages.
CWU
Following CWU’s national bargaining conference in March, a tough round of negotiations with Telkom kicked off in April, leaving workers convinced that Telkom needed more than negotiations if the union wanted to clinch a favourable deal.
The union demanded a wage increase of 9% for D1 and above, 16% for supervisors, 18,5% for operational staff, 20% for auxiliary staff and a minimum wage of R1 955,75. Telkom’s offer was a 7.5% increase across the board dated back to 1 April, and a minimum wage of R1 778 or a 8.5% wage increase across the board from 1 May and a minimum wage of R1 790,25.
"The union is reporting back to its members at Telkom and the action to be taken will depend on the feedback we receive from them," said CWU media officer Shakes Gonyane. He said other sectors in the communications industry were also in the process of gearing up for a big show down with employers.
CWIU
CWIU emerged from its 5th national bargaining conference in March with the following demands:
The conference also set up a wage policy committee and resolved that the union should formulate framework agreements on health and safety, on a medical aid fund and on adult basic education aimed at ensuring participation by employers in the industry training board.
The union was mandated to draw up a programme of action in its campaign for an industrywide national provident fund. Inputs on productivity and restructuring were referred to branches for further discussion.
A constitution for an industry bargaining council has still not been finalised. A drafting committee made up of union and employer legal representatives has been asked to isolate differences between the parties. "Once the draft is finalised and scrutinised by the national group, it will be sent to the various constituencies for mandate purposes," said CWIU media officer Siphiwe Mgcina.
The union is locked in a dispute with Naschem over wages and over the company’s refusal to join the industry’s centralised bargaining process. The union demanded a 10% across the board increase but the company refused to compromise on its 8% offer.
Following a failure to reach a settlement in the CCMA, the company locked out workers who refused to accept its 8% final offer. The company dismissed 40 contract workers for participating in a strike in support of union demands. J
Simone Geyer, Sadtu’s Western Cape negotiator, reports on the union’s national culture festival
For years May Day has been marked by cultural celebrations. This year the opening of Sadtu’s biennial culture festival coincided with May Day. In our masses the union moved to the Cape to be part of this historic occasion. This was a first for the union in a number of ways — its was Sadtu’s first national event in the Western Cape, the union’s first performance at a traditional state theatre and, for a number of comrades, their first visit to the Cape.
We converged on the Nico Malan Theatre, which we had boycotted in the past as it was an anchor of the apartheid regime. It was high time that this legacy was changed and what better way to do this than to hold Sadtu’s cultural festival within its wall and on its stage! Excitement filled the air as the Nico prepared to accept a host of new cultures.
Western culture had to lean to accommodate traditional culture. This led to some amusing situations. In true Western tradition, the evening started with bells tolling to announce that the performance was about to start. The only problem was that no-one took any notice of this — the foyer was a hive of activity with comrades greeting old friends. Many people thought the bells were the chimes of a clock. In the same way, nobody understood that the doors and the bar would be closed during performances. From our perspective, this was a time to keep the bar open!
Backstage, theatre technicians prepared for the curtain call. According to the programme, this was to happen at 7 pm. But this hadn’t taken into account the fact that Sadtu comrades (always keen to uphold the union’s culture of meetings) were locked in an urgent "NEC" about an accommodation crisis that had arisen. But comrades in the audience had no problem with waiting — they improvised with an impromptu dance and singing concert. This was a new tradition for the Nico — performances usually happen on stage!
Finally we were ready to start the show. This was a moment of great anticipation! Our president had made his opening speech, the audience was ready to sit back and relax to enjoy the evening’s entertainment, the technicians had scurried behind the scenes, trying to keep order among the excited participants. 1...2...3...Ready? ....Curtain up! When, Oops! three comrades came casually strolling across the stage trying to find a short cut.
Despite the difference between established theatre and the "Sadtu Theatre", we enjoyed three days of spectacular performances. The theatre came alive with the vibrating rhythm of gumboot dancing and African and Indian traditional dances. The drama and poetry performances were breathtaking. The soloists serenaded the appreciative audience and comrades jived to good Cape jazz.
The highlight of the festival was the choral singing. Sadtu showed its enormous talent as each province’s performance seemed to improve on the one before. Teachers’ voices were worth recording. In fact, choral events should become a major feature of Sadtu’s social and financial calendar. The climax was the mass choir consisting of all the provinces. It sang two new Sadtu songs composed especially for the occasion. These songs were so beautifully sung that it moved the audience beyond words and brought tears to many sentimental eyes.
The festival ended with a short tour around the Peninsula so that teachers could appreciate the extent of the beauty that Cape Town has to offer and the view of the mountain from across Blouberg Strand. This was a weekend well-spent in the Sadtu family!
Democratic local government is still in its infancy. The Shopsteward looks at some of the teething problems and opportunities and gained some insight from Boksburg councillor, NUM’s Gwede Mantashe.
Local government has opened up huge opportunities for people-driven transformation and mass involvement in reconstruction and development at a local level.
Since last year, the ANC-led alliance has moved to redefine and revitalise the Masakhane campaign and held People’s Weekends across the country. In some areas there are concerted attempts to link the process to building organs of people’s power, a campaign last seen during the days of mass resistance to apartheid.
The department of provincial affairs and constitutional development has initiated a process to draw up a White Paper on local government. This will determine the way municipalities function after 1999, which marks the end of the interim phase of local government.
Many local authorities face serious financial and administrative problems. This is hampering their ability to overcome the legacy of apartheid and provide sorely needed basic services, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
A survey last year showed that while one third of the country’s 843 councils were financially sound, one third were "financially stressed" and another third were totally unviable financially.
These difficulties are compounded by weaknesses in mass organisation and political leadership in some local areas. And there are fears that this could strengthen the hand of anti-transformation forces and undermine attempts at full-blown democratisation.
People’s power
Gwede Mantashe, NUM assistant general secretary and SACP central committee member, is one of more than 130 NUM mayors and councillors devoted to "making it happen where they live". He is an ANC councillor for Boksburg, which includes Vosloorus, Dawn Park, Reiger Park and Boksburg North, areas which were sharply divided along racial lines in the past.
Mantashe says local government is the tier of government closest to the people and the only one that gives people the opportunity to really exercise power.
"Liberation is not just about access to power," Mantashe says. "It is also the ability to use that power to participate and influence decisions that impact on people’s lives."
"Organs of people’s power can be created at local government level and people can impact on their own future and make things happen where they live."
Mantashe says it is through these organs of people’s power that the great majority of people can taste this power. "But this can only be a reality if we succeed in involving people up to household level."
"This is what we mean when we talk of deepening democracy. All the people should take ownership of the progress made and problems encountered.
"Local government presents an opportunity to deepen democracy, where wards can be turned into people’s territories, where people can take charge of the reconstruction and development programme.
"Central and provincial government will come up with a number of programmes and plans," he adds, "But the actual delivery of those plans happens through local government."
And, for communists and those committed to a socialist future, Mantashe adds, local government creates the opportunity to start building socialism now.
"It is therefore important for workers to participate in ward structures and area committees to ensure that working class interests are not overlooked," he says.
People-driven transformation
A lack of mass involvement in transformation struggles was one weakness Cosatu highlighted in its proposed programme for the tripartite alliance released late last year.
"To date the masses largely remain spectators in the theatre of the struggle for transformation," the document said.
It also highlighted a weakness raised at the MDM Masakhane Summit in October last year. "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."
"Remove the masses, the progressive forces for change from your calculation, and the power of the reactionary forces becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."
The document went on to say that a lack of leadership from the democratic movement and the lack of a people-driven transformation had led 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," the document said.
"It is 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."
Developmental state
The importance of the relationship between the democratic state, the political centre and organs of civil society was highlighted at the Masakhane Summit in a paper by ANC and SACP leader Jeremy Cronin.
The paper argued for a partnership between what it called a "developmental state" and the broad movement for transformation.
A "developmental state", the paper said, is a state that is a "catalyser, strategic coordinator (including the economy), but does not seek to monopolise all ownership or resources".
"Rather it seeks to use its own resources, authority and capacity to energise, empower and leverage a broad range of other resources behind a developmental or transformational effort.
"Critical to the success of such a progressive developmental state are partnerships, engagements, negotiations with many forces (including capital) but, above all, with a broad popular movement for transformation."
At the centre of such a movement, Cronin said, needs to be the ANC as a mass-based political movement, together with its alliance and its broader front of mass democratic formations.
This idea of a progressive developmental state working hand in hand with a broad popular movement for transformation was behind the revamped Masakhane campaign, relaunched late last year.
Bureaucratisation
The MDM Summit was an attempt to rescue Masakhane, which had been a government-run campaign dating back to 1995. According to a discussion document at the Summit, Masakhane had been reduced to a payment campaign rather than a focus on community participation, local government transformation and local economic development.
Cronin said this weakness reflected what he called "a tendency towards the bureaucratisation of transformation". The campaign’s message had been reduced to a narrow "we deliver, you pay".
"Our broader communities are mobilised narrowly as consumers of top-down delivered services. The dynamic potential relationship between progressive government and its constituency is reduced to a market relation, sellers and buyers."
Payment, Cronin argued, should rather help inspire a sense of ownership, involvement and of civic responsibility.
The ANC-led MDM campaign, according to a Summit discussion paper, should be directed at delivery of services, participation of people in decisions about budgets, transformation of local government and building of strong local branches on the ground.
"In short, the campaign has multiple objectives geared towards improving the living conditions of our people, as well as ensuring that the democratic movement consolidates its control of local government as an important tier of the emerging developmental state," the paper argued.
"This is only possible if the ANC-led MDM is strong at a grassroots level and has constant contact with the people. Masakhane is therefore about continuing the tradition of organs of people’s power in the new context of democratisation and transformation."
Transformation
But what does transformation mean at local government level? Mantashe says transformation is a systematic process of changing the quality of life for the better. He outlines three immediate challenges in transforming local government:
Transformation of state machinery
The state, at all levels, must be transformed into a friendly and supportive instrument for the society as a whole, says Mantashe. This is more urgent for local government than at any other tier of government.
At the same time, transformation of the state should be directed at creating a state machinery that is an instrument in the hands of the working class. This is a process and not an event, and as such requires patience, he says.
"The question is not how fast central government does things. The main issue is to ensure that as a movement we have a clear transformation programme and that every cadre takes full responsibility for the implementation of such a programme. All levels of government will then march in the same direction."
However, a coherent transformation programme would need to take into account the fact that, to a great extent, the state machinery remains loyal to the previous regime, and that there is a lack of cadreship with sufficient skills.
The old and tested cadreship can, at best, only form a core group for transformation, Mantashe argues. "To be able to take over state power, we need to quickly develop a people’s commissariat that should be ready within five years to take over strategic positions and therefore improve our capacity to accelerate the programme of transformation."
Mantashe is optimistic that the transformation process can be accelerated with visible success at local government level.
The advantage of local government, he says, is that the policy formulation process is short.
"You don’t need to draft a green paper, a white paper, a draft bill before passing legislation. You write a motion 10 days before the council meeting.
"Once debated and passed by the full council meeting, it is a bye-law of the city or town. This gives us space to put policies in place within a short space of time."
Affirmative action
Mantashe said when he and his ANC colleagues were first elected to the Boksburg TLC, all heads of department and the chief executive officer were white males, mainly Afrikaners.
"We had to develop a vision and try to allow everybody to buy into that vision."
Part of this vision was to "deliver efficient, effective, affordable and acceptable services to all the people of Boksburg in an equitable way".
"We built two elements into this. We said we must develop officials in the council to full capacity, develop the infrastructure to full capacity, and build in affirmative action and the RDP as two legs of that transformation."
The tool to do this was a transformation team — a small team of bureaucrats to drive this programme, Mantashe said.
Today the situation is changing. Boksburg’s CEO is black and a number of other senior appointments have made the council’s administration more representative of the population as a whole.
Mantashe says he would have preferred more rapid change. "But we are not in the numbers game where we just replace white faces with black faces. We want to ensure that we appoint people with the necessary skills."
People with the required qualifications but with insufficient experience can be appointed on the basis of potential.
"And now we are looking into a programme to develop those people so that they can match the responsibility that goes with those appointments."
Mantashe says the council hasn’t just thrown people out and ground the council to a halt. They have consciously moved to balance the national question and the gender question, blended with the necessary skills profile.
"This conscious approach has made Boksburg one of the top three councils in Gauteng in terms of financial stability."
And, as a councillor, Mantashe hasn’t forgotten his union roots. The council has set up a structure which meets on an ongoing basis to discuss issues such as affirmative action, disparities in conditions of employment, and other issues raised by unions.
Councillors’ capacity
The nationwide councils’ cash crisis has been partly blamed on a lack of capacity among councillors. The Masakhane Summit emphasised the importance of education and training of councillors and MDM activists, particularly on the People’s Budget process. But Mantashe believes the priority is political training for councillors, who he says are political managers, not technocrats.
"I find more and more that what is lacking among councillors is a depth of political analysis and ability."
He said newly elected councillors were sent on numerous training courses and programmes on legal, financial and other technical matters. "That is well and good. But I think there was an oversight on the part of the ANC-led alliance in not putting these councillors on a similar intensive political programme.
Councillors develop an understanding of the technical aspects as they deal with these on an ongoing basis.
"But we don’t have a complementary political programme that will give them the tools to understand that some of the most financially correct positions do not make political sense in the current situation."
Infrastructural development
Mantashe says local government is best placed to practically implement the RDP. But he argues that local authorities should have greater implementation powers, especially in areas such as the building of houses.
"Many black townships were built without basic infrastructure. There are no parks, no sportsfields, not enough schools, no clinics and either untarred or very narrow streets, and a general lack of basic facilities."
Mantashe says "services and facilities to the people" should be the slogan for local government. And the provision of facilities and services close to where people live should be part of a deliberate and conscious policy. This approach has more impact than isolated mega-projects, he argues.
"Bokburg has been in a fortunate position because it has a presidential project in Katorus, which includes Vosloorus, and we have used that advantage optimally. So Vosloorus has been one of the fastest developing townships in terms of infrastructural development. This has included elements of the public works project approach — not driven by the public works department — but rather as RDP projects."
Participatory budgetting
Boksburg was far ahead of other councils in implementing the idea of participatory budgetting. And the community has impacted on spending priorities in the council’s 1995/96 and 1996/97 budgets.
Mantashe explains: "Areas discuss issues and come up with proposals for projects in their area, for example, parks, sports grounds, clinics, schools etc. Some of these issues raised fall outside of the competency of local government. But the council can then facilitate the process of engaging with other tiers of government around these.
"In our ward there was no primary school at all. We set up an education committee that had to go and interact with the provincial education department. Now there is a primary school coming. There is a technical high school coming. And we are fighting very hard for a second primary school."
When Mantashe first took office, three out of eight areas in his ward had no telephone network. "We engaged Telkom and encouraged committees from those areas to also engage Eskom so that we complement one another. And all those three areas have telephone networks today."
Health care
One of Boksburg’s priorities was health care. Mantashe was part of a delegation to Cuba in 1993, and was particularly impressed by the Cuban health care system. Applied back home, this translated into a network of satellite clinics to provide primary health care, health care centres, district, regional and provincial hospitals.
In one year, the council had developed four satellite clinics in Vosloorus. And a health care centre is being set up which will include a day hospital and a 24-hour emergency service.
"Our dream is that we must have these satellite clinics in every area," said Mantashe. "Nobody must have to walk for more than 3km to have access to health care facilities."
In this way, the policy of free health care for pregnant women and children under 6 years — and ultimately free health care for all — can be implemented.
Police stations
Boksburg’s approach to crime prevention is similar. A network of satellite police stations has been set up, linked to community policing structures in each area. These area committees then link up with the local community policing forum.
Boksburg has four CPFs — one each in Vosloorus, Dawn Park, Reiger Park and Boksburg North.
Initially railway trucks were used for the satellite police stations, but the 1997/98 budget caters for permanent structures for this.
This policing network also draws on the Cuban approach of Committees for the Defence of the Revolution, Mantashe adds. It aims to involve communities and give residents more control over policing and crime prevention.
Mantashe says figures indicate a visible drop in crime in Vosloorus. But the committees tend to die down when there is less crime and become activated again when there is a criminal incident.
Services
Services provided by local authorities include electricity supply, water, sewerage, refuse removal, maintenance of roads and other infrastructure, rental houses, flats and hostels.
The quality of services depends on the quality of infrastructure and the economic base of the local authority, says Mantashe.
Rates and taxes are the council’s main source of revenue. And the zoning of land, rates and tariffs and the price of land are critical in attracting new permanent investment.
"It is up to local authorities to ensure local economic development and to sell their cities to investors," Mantashe says. But marketing the city should be a social effort. He chairs the Boksburg marketing committee and says the city is Gauteng’s fastest-growing commercial growth point and the second fastest industrial growth point after Midrand.
Public/private partnerships
Mantashe is opposed to contracting out the delivery of basic services to private companies, as is happening in some local authorities under the guise of public/private partnerships (PPPs). He says you can’t rely on market forces to deliver services as this will make services inaccessible to the majority of people.
Business has a role to play in private developments, for example, in building a shopping centre. "The council must provide the infrastructure, electricity network, water supply, sewerage, and so on, and the private sector must develop things like business centres. The council must create a conducive atmosphere to attract that investment, but that is not partnership. It is people investing to make a living.
"All we are saying is that we are going to avail land at a reasonable price, to attract development, and that is where our responsibility lies."
Successful local economic development will be an important building block for socialism, Mantashe says. But a coherent development programme depends on people paying for services.
"Our people must be made to understand that non-payment was part of the programme to overthrow the apartheid regime. That weapon cannot be used against a people’s government.
"We are now engaged in a programme to reconstruct our society, including those aspects that were broken down. Payment for services will give us the capacity to implement the reconstruction programme."
Boksburg has seen improved payment levels, from around 9% last year to 32% in January this year. But this is not high enough.
Mantashe feels there is a need for an aggressive programme to combat non-payment. And he supports harsh measures against those who continue to refuse to pay.
"Closer to the elections there will be reluctance in taking harsh steps. We therefore need to move swiftly now," he says. "No payment, no service."
Service payment has been one aspect of the Masakhane campaign. But Mantashe believes the campaign will not be successful when it is driven by local and provincial government.
"It will only succeed if it is driven by community-based structures and those structures commit themselves to the campaign." But this has not happened, he says.
Obstacles
This illustrates a broader obstacle to local-level transformation. In many areas the tripartite alliance and other MDM structures lack cohesion and depth and have been unable to effectively give political leadership around a common programme at local level.
"Transformation cannot be dealt with by an individual organisation. It can only succeed if there is a conscious programme that brings various community-based organisations together to drive that transformation programme.
"To do that means that your structures must have a dynamic interaction and communication with the structures at every level."
Mantashe says Vosloorus does have an informal structure which brings together leaders from various MDM organisations and ANC councillors. It acts as a political centre and meets at least once a month. It discusses developmental and political issues and tries to intervene when there are problems, tensions and conflicts.
Tensions
Leadership tensions and grudges within organisations and between organisations — some dating back to the November 1995 election campaign — have seriously hampered MDM unity.
For example, where the civic initiates a project, they see it as their own turf. But the ANC branch believes the project should be led by them. "It would be better if they all came together," says Mantashe. "There is enough space in those structures for all of them to sit there and be part of the processes."
"In the unions, we have a wealth of experience about that. Elections are a very useful tool for democracy and if you stand for elections in any position, to be defeated doesn’t mean that you must give up and start fighting people. You must understand that this very important tool has been used and it has come up with results. If you have political ambitions, you must always be ready to stand the next time and the next time and the next. And people need to be reminded that this tool is there and your success must not depend on undercutting other people, it must depend on you performing."
One of the problems is "careerism", where broader organisational interests and processes are subverted by personal ambitions.
"This is a dangerous trend that must be defeated," says Mantashe. "To me, people must be able to stand up publicly and say: I am today elected a councillor in this ward. If the ANC and members of the ANC are prepared to elect another person, I declare my support for that person.
"And if people don’t come up openly like that, that translates into infighting. And people end up fighting one another for being elected as councillors."
This tendency feeds into the interests of anti-transformation forces says Cronin. "The danger is that our formations become less forces for popular mobilisation, empowerment and organisation, and more and more the terrain for intra-elite competition and careerism.
"The situation within the ANC, or between an ANC branch and an SACP or Sanco branch becomes less about a common effort to mobilise for transformation, with healthy engagement and debate, and more and more turf battles, in which organisational structures become little more than platforms to launch careers or to place this or that group of individuals on to electoral lists."
But how is this avoided? "We need to recover our sense of vision," Cronin argues, "we need to hold on to our strategic priorities. Certainly, government needs to govern, and we need all to support it in this. But governance is more than government, and effective governance requires an organised and mobilised popular movement for transformation working in tandem with a progressive, developmental state. To succeed in this we need to recover the concept of a people-driven RDP, which is at the heart of the Masakhane idea."
Joint ownership
Mantashe is concerned that MDM structures have not yet been able to take joint ownership of local development initiatives.
"When we set up local government," says Mantashe, "we agreed that structures like the ANC, the Party, Cosatu and Sanco, should sit permanently in ANC council caucuses, as structures independent of councillors." But this was easier said than done, he adds. And they now run the risk of being left out of programmes.
"Those structures need to appreciate the fact that their long-term survival depends on their involvement in developmental issues and therefore they must be part of these plans and programmes. They must take an active part in local developmental forums.
"Once those structures are there, then development can be taken ownership of by the ANC-led alliance. And then the councillors become just people who are carrying out the mandate of a constitutional structure," Mantashe says.
"As councillors, we must try in all our local authorities to conscientise our councillors never to take personal ownership of projects that they are driving. They must always use the organisation.
"For example, if you are calling report-back meetings on any issue, to me it is advisable to put ANC logos on your notices, so there must be no confusion that you are an ANC councillor. You were elected on an ANC ticket. And that must never disappear.
"Because there is this new trend of people pretending to be neutral. And this middle of the road approach is not the best approach if we want to survive in the long-term.
"My starting point is that any political organisation is there because of its programme that is linked to political power. And once its instruments get control of that political power, it must always be visible as the political party that is driving those structures."
Elected leaders and ANC councillors in Boksburg took steps to revive structures and most are now operational, Mantashe says. But they are not yet fully effective.
Cosatu locals in the area are not functioning. Mantashe says these locals should be involved in the local development forums and impact on budget formulation and other issues. However, workers are not voiceless in the process and many Cosatu shopstewards are active in the civic, in the ANC and the SACP.
People’s territories
In the local government election campaign, ANC candidates for Boksburg developed their own local manifesto in addition to the ANC’s broad manifesto.
"We developed a local manifesto which said, here is our contract with the people of the city," Mantashe explains. "We identified 10 areas that we said we are going to focus on. We said we are going to be a local authority that ensures that people are on board, that they are taking decisions and that they are driving programmes. And we committed ourselves upfront that we must report back to our wards. And we have tried our best to stick to that manifesto to the letter."
The formal ward public meetings take place once a month and include a report from the council on a range of issues. For example, a report for March 1997 included items on electrification, traffic lights, a pump station, social services, land for creches and churches, services payment, preparations for the ceremony to mark Chris Hani’s Freedom of Boksburg award and the development of a park.
Within each ward there are also regular area meetings which discuss reports and put forward proposals. For example, in Mantashe’s Ward 1, there are eight areas, which are represented at the monthly public ward meetings and report back to area meetings. Mantashe says it is up to councillors to strengthen and empower these structures.
The area committees function as blocks within the ward and have elementary aspects of street committees. These are not yet fully-fledged street-level structures as operated in some areas in the past, but there is a consciousness in area meetings that residents from different sections should be represented. And there is an attempt to ensure that activists from the youth, the ANC, the SACP and workers are all part of these processes and structures.
"The concept that we are beginning to use is to say wards must be regarded as people’s territories. And any development in a ward should not be yours as a councillor, it should be development that the structures in the area can take ownership of."
According to Mantashe, this approach is yielding results, with more and more residents having a detailed understanding of and being part of developments. And it is here where, despite the obstacles, people-driven transformation is beginning to make itself felt.
Miners wear many hats
The NUM has about 134 councillors in various local authorities across the country. Mantashe says this should be understood in the context of the union’s 1987 congress theme — Mineworkers Take Control.
"That is our starting point. Mining towns must be controlled by miners. That includes a loco driver having the responsibility of becoming a mayor in a mining town.
"And we have succeeded to a great extent in ensuring that mining towns are, by and large, controlled by mineworkers, NUM members. And we take it as a step forward that, in those mining towns, ANC structures must be dominated by mineworkers. Party structures must be dominated by mineworkers.
"And in that kind of a situation, the dividing line between the NUM’s accountability to the ANC and the Party becomes very thin."
The union has been discussing the issue of local government and sharing ideas based on the experience of NUM mayors and councillors in their leadership schools.
"Our intention is to ensure that these comrades must never forget that they have been elected by mineworkers. And, for example, when mineworkers approach companies for housing projects, the local authority that is dominated by mineworkers must facilitate the process of developing those houses. So that relationship and cooperation becomes quite critical," says Mantashe.
For example, in Westonaria town council, you find Kloof gold mine is a ward, and therefore the constituency of the NUM councillors is Kloof gold mine and they must report council matters in the mine, which is an ANC branch.
"Comrade Zokwana, our deputy president, who is the chairperson of Welkom, is elected from the ward that covers President Steyn gold mine. His constituency and his base is President Steyn, which is an NUM branch. Those comrades must report to those wards, and those wards happen to cover those mines and those mines happen to be NUM branches."
Nceba Plaatjies, chairperson of the Numsa and Cosatu locals in Uitenhage explains how workers are making sure local government works in the area
After the local government elections in 1995, we called on all stakeholders in the community, including business and labour, to a meeting in the Uitenhage town hall to discuss the Masakhane campaign. Eventually a Record of Understanding was signed between the parties.
It was agreed that workers would sign stop orders to allow companies to deduct money from their wages for the payment of service charges. Companies also agreed to give municipal officials access to office facilities so that they could take down workers’ particulars.
Plaatjies, representing Cosatu, the local ANC mayor Rascus Kopo, and a Sanco representative, Mzwandile Made, went from factory to factory and were given time to speak to workers to tell them all about Masakhane. People thought Masakhane was just about paying for services but we told them it was also about ensuring delivery of the things people need in the community.
Workers wanted to know what is the money being used for and what would it deliver. We told them about the services provided by the local authority such as refuse removal and the provision of plastic bags for that.
When we explained this to workers they accepted the need to pay and the process continued smoothly.
The programme took about two weeks and covered every factory in the area. The response from both workers and management was very positive.
Management also agreed to grant loans to workers to pay their arrears for service charges to be repayed over a period of time.
GMX workers agreed for the past year to increase the flat rate of R44 to R64 to cover their arrears.
The various stakeholders later attended a follow-up meeting to assess the process. It was decided that in those wards where payment levels were the highest, the council would build a swimming pool or a park for children to play in so that people could see that they are getting something back. This has already started with the building of a park in Ward 3.
As Cosatu we checked with the municipality how the campaign was proceeding. On the whole it has been successful although at some factories such as Volkswagen the stop orders are not coming in in great numbers.
There has been a proposal from the PE chamber of commerce that the provincial government pass legislation for companies to deduct money from the payroll. While there is no objection in principle to workers paying, we don’t want legislation to force workers to pay as it must be their decision.
In Uitenhage representatives from the Cosatu local have been involved in discussions on the council’s budget. And when the council looks at the allocation of projects in the area, they also call us in as Cosatu to participate.
We said as Cosatu that councillors should call community meetings at least every three months so that people can talk about their needs and what they see as essential for delivery. For example, it is no use for the council to build roads when people see it as a priority to build schools.
Some of these meetings have been held, usually on a Sunday, and people are sent around the wards with loudhailers telling people about the meetings.
Cosatu also initiated the formation of the council’s RDP desk, which has representatives from all organisations.
Workers participate as residents in ward committees which are working with the councillors.
To avoid the problem of workers having to carry the burden of the entire community, the provincial government agreed in October last year to pay the debts of unemployed people in the community. But for this to happen, each unemployed person must register with the council every three months.
More recently, comrades from Port Elizabeth approached us for advice and have launched a similar initiative.
What is privatisation?Samwu draws on the definition of privatisation used by the Public Services International (PSI) and other trade unions internationally. Privatisation refers to any policies, processes and activities which bring market forces — which encompasses the drive to make a profit and competition — into the public sector or the delivery of public serivces. It therefore covers a range of activities, not just the complete or partial sell-off of state enterprises, says Samwu. This privatisation takes different forms, including contracting out, public/private partnerships, delegated management, concessions and build operate transfer (BOT). |
Samwu has taken its opposition to public/private partnerships (PPPs) a step further by putting forward concrete proposals for public sector service delivery at local government level.
In a document released in May, Samwu proposes the setting up of pilot projects to explore public sector options for the delivery of water and sanitation services in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Nelspruit.
The union challenges assumptions by government at national, provincial and local level that there is no alternative to PPPs in solving the problems facing municipalities. These problems include:
Samwu says PPPs put forward by the government in the Department of Constitutional Development (DCD) and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) promote privatisation and are not the answer to effective service delivery.
"It will undermine the process of ensuring that everyone has access to the basic goods and services that they need to survive.
"In addition, it will undermine the process of building democratic structures and accountability between the council and the communities they represent."
Samwu believes it is possible to develop a public sector option for service delivery which expands the capacity of existing public and parastatal structures to meet the service needs of all South Africans. And it says this can be done in a way that is equitable, effective, efficient and affordable for both the broad community and municipal employees.
Public sector service delivery prioritises meeting the needs of communities and stengthening democratic lines of accountability between communities and municipalities above other considerations. Not to choose a public sector option is an indication of a lack of political will rather than of real technical and financial constraints.
Both the DCD and the DWAF have brought out guidelines for private sector participation in the delivery of services. But Samwu believes not enough has been done at central, provincial or local level, to explore public sector options. It is in this light that the union has submitted a proposal for three worker-based, public sector pilot projects.
The project aims to develop a viable plan for "turning around" water services delivery in the Central Substructure, Cape Metropolitan Council; the Johannesburg Transitional Metropolitan Council; and the Nelspruit Transitional Metropolitan Council.
This will require a number of complementary processes involving municipal employees and the trade unions representing them; the community; the councillors; municipal management; and central and provincial government.
Samwu’s proposed pilot project will focus on:
Problems
Samwu says that many of the problems and inefficiencies facing municipalities today can be traced back to apartheid, and should not be regarded as endemic to the public sector.
General problems preventing municipalities from delivering water and other services effectively and efficiently are:
Samwu disagrees with a government view that a lack of competitiveness is the cause of inefficiencies. The union argues that efficiency can be improved, in a sustainable way, by reorganising public sector delivery systems and local government accountability, so that communities have greater control over the allocation of resources and service delivery.
Pilot projects
Samwu proposes pilot projects be set up in the following areas:
According to the union, the Central Substructure of the Cape Town Metropolitan Council has requested funding from the DCD for funding to explore PPP options for the upgrading, extension, operation and management of the water supply in the area under their jurisdiction. Samwu has proposed that its proposal to explore public sector options for water and sanitation service delivery should be implemented alongside or instead of this project.
The union adds that the option of including the whole of the Cape Town metropolitan area in pilot project should also be considered.
The Transitional Metropolitan Councils (TMCs) in both Cape Town and Johannesburg are responsible for bulk water delivery to their substructures, which are in turn responsible for the delivery of water and sanitation services to residents in their areas.
Samwu’s gives an account of problems in all three areas, which include both former white areas and former black townships, as well as formal and informal housing settlements.
In general, there are still vast inequalities between the old white local authorities and old black local authorities in terms of access to water and sanitation services.
For example, in some areas there is a high level and standard of service delivery with metered house connections, water-borne sewage systems, adequate billing and revenue collection, prompt response to problems and ongoing maintenance.
However, in other areas, the level and standard of services is low, with unmetered house connections, or yard taps only, pressure problems, little or no maintenance, significant water loss and a lack of administrative control. In informal settlements, the problems are even worse. Water is provided by tankers or standpipes and very few have water-borne sewage. In many areas, people desperate for access to water for their daily survival have made illegal connections into the water reticulation system.
Samwu recognises the need for restructuring aimed at integrating previously separate water works departments of different municipalities; redeploying staff; ensuring parity in wages, working conditions and qualifications; and ensuring that there are sufficient resources (financial and non-financial) within the public sector to be able to upgrade, extend, operate, manage and administer the water and sanitation systems in the new municipalities.
Aims of the project
Samwu’s proposed pilot projects will be worker based, drawing on the experiences and understanding of the union’s members. The projects will seek to develop alternative ways for reorganising the workplace and reorganising service delivery in such a way that an effective, efficient, equitable and affordable service is delivered.
Re-organising the workplace
The project aims to identify problems within the workplace which lead to inefficiencies, and develop plans to overcome these. These problems include:
Re-organising service delivery
The project aims to develop plans, based on existing information, and drawing on the experience of workers and expressed needs of communities, that will allow for: