The falling gold price is being used as a battering ram against mineworkers in the gold producing countries. It is bringing the nightmare of perpetual unemployment and untold suffering to hundreds of thousands of workers and their dependants. With the gold price at its lowest point in twenty years, the captains of industry have been quick to take advantage, especially when it comes to collective bargaining. South Africa and Russia are the leading gold producing countries in the world. Workers in these countries will suffer the worst consequences. However, the Least Developed Countries [LDCs] will also be heavily affected.
The gold price is falling because countries such as Britain and Switzerland and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have decided to sell their gold reserves. This decision is linked to a plan adopted at a meeting of the Group of Seven (the seven richest countries in the world) in Cologne, Germany in June.
Ostensibly, the money from the gold sales will be used to provide debt relief to the poorest nations of the world. The real motive, however, is to strangle the weaker economies and to set the stage for world economic domination through globalisation. It is not surprising that the G7 can gather and take the dizziest of decisions that even a person with half a brain can see as nothing but cruel and callous. Is it an economic decision? Yes, but with politico -military and social dimensions. Look at what is happening in Kosovo!
Since gold is sold in dollars, the mining houses are still smiling all the way to the bank. Any economic or financial losses they may suffer are nothing compared to the social consequences of their actions. Should gold hit an all time low of $250 per ounce, marginal mines will become unprofitable. Massive retrenchments will lead to social dislocation, hunger and poverty in entire communities.
It is estimated that more than 100 000 workers will lose their jobs in the gold sector. A further 250 000 workers in secondary industries stand to be retrenched. Our economy will take a serious knock. There will be massive financial losses and huge capital flight from the country.
Just because they are economically superior, the G7 countries have taken upon themselves the right to take decisions about the whole world. They fix the gold price and thereby determine how much of the metal is sold. They have become our gods - or, rather, our demons - who rule supreme, riding roughshod over the sovereignty and rights of lesser mortals as if we were so much rubble.
Unless the developing countries of Africa, Latin America and Asia launch a collective effort to halt this imperialist juggernaut, we will forever remain at the periphery and mercy of the rich countries.
While we are thankful that the U.S Congress took a stand against the in sanity of the IMF, we cannot always rely on uncle Sam. As developing countries, we must get out of the rut of inertia and hopelessness and, as the African idiom goes, "take the bull by the horns".
Union representatives from the clothing, textile and leather sectors in nine Southern African countries (Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) met in Maputo on 10 May to discuss the crisis facing workers in these sectors. South African workers were represented by SACTWU and the National Union of Leather and Allied Workers.
The meeting noted that in almost all the countries in the region, there have been massive job losses and factory closures. There is no social security net for those who lose their jobs. Workers who have jobs earn such low wages that they live in perpetual poverty.
The following specific problems were identified:
Erosion of labour standards. Employers have persuaded governments to reduce labour standards in order to increase their rate of profit. Workers, especially women, and poor communities pay the costs.
War and corruption. Governments have committed huge resources to armed conflict. Officials undermine their countries through corruption.
Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs). Many governments have followed SAPs geared to meeting the needs of foreign investors. Many of these policies are directed at cutting social services and retrenching public sector workers.
Export Processing Zones (EPZs). EPZs are often crude production enclaves that fail to build the technological and skills base of the economy. In some instances, they rely on the denial of freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Tariff reduction. The Uruguay Round of GATT was used to pressurise many African countries to agree to reduce tariffs on clothing, textiles and footwear. Some countries have reduced their tariffs even faster than GATT requires. The result has been factory closures and huge job losses.
Smuggling. Vast quantities of goods enter Africa illegally.
Second hand clothing. The trade in second hand clothing is causing factories to close.
The meeting noted that "it is the fundamental responsibility of governments in the region to work with trade unions and employers in order to develop appropriate policies to secure a future for the industries and to improve the conditions of workers." It called for the following policies to be adopted:
The representatives committed themselves to the following programme of action: