Cosatu should continue fighting for 'one country, one federation'

Kgalema Motlanthe, interviewed by Moloto Mothapo

Trade unionism, the battle for workers' rights, the constant clash with the past system and a commitment to the country's political struggle characterise the life of the African National Congress Secretary-General, comrade Kgalema Motlanthe.

His involvement with the struggle for workers' rights and political emancipation in this country bring back memories of his arrest before 1987 where he and comrades such as Stan Nkosi twisted the situation into a platform for political and trade union discussion.

“While in the confines of the prison walls, the most crucial factor that dominated our discussion was to come up with a strategy to mobilise the then most difficult sector to organise, the mining sector”. Comrade Kgalema says it became apparent that most of the people from the industry would not be interested. That is when they resolved together to take the task upon their shoulders.

With comrades like JB Marks, JJ Majoro (a clerk at one of the mines) and others, they came up with a vision of a consolidated African Mineworkers Union.

“Immediately after my release, together with my co-accused Comrade Stan Nkosi, in a continued effort to try mobilise the mining sector, we contacted the then General Secretary of the National Union Of Mineworkers, comrade Cyril Ramaphosa, wanting of join NUM.”

The same year, in June 1987, comrade Kgalema was appointed as the Education Officer, which put him in a position to negotiate in a number of mines in this country. It came as no surprise when in the same year he was mandated by the union to organise miners for a strike for wages.

“This gave me a chance, as the chairperson of the Strike Support Committee to meet various non-governmental organisations. “The strike was the largest ever, with more than 40 000 miners from both the gold and coal industries joining in. It lasted for 20 days, resulting in the expulsion of more than 50 000 by Anglo Gold alone, from which only 30 000 were reemployed. This historic event is still vivid in comrade Kgalema's mind, and is one of the cornerstones of his leadership.

But comrade Kgalema's obsession with better conditions and liberation was not confined only to labour but extended to the political movement. This led to his involvement with the ANC. Still holding the position of the Educational Officer at NUM, he was called to consolidate the legal structures within the ANC national office.

“When the ANC was unbanned in 1990 I was asked to convene a team to establish legal structures of the ANC. This resulted in the formal launching of the ANC's PWV region (as formerly known) and becoming its chairperson.

During the ANC's first National Conference since its unbanning, the NUM general secretary, Cyril Ramaphosa, was elected as the ANC general secretary. Kgalema was worried about leadership consolidation at the NMU. That is why he stepped down as the PWV regional chair of the ANC and concentrated full time on the NUM.

“I said to the ANC that I should step down as the chair and focus on the NUM, as I believed that there was still a lot of service that the mining sector needed”. The following year, in 1992, he was elected acting general-secretary of the union and subsequently, the general secretary in 1994. Comrade Kgalema says that the understanding of solidarity within mineworkers is one of the important factors that built the country's largest mineworkers' union as huge as it is today.

“I have always been encouraged by the spirit of comradeship and togetherness from the mineworkers, amid demoralising factors such as underpayments and worse employment conditions”, he recalls. Kgalema says he remembers the role NUM played in Cuba when fellow mineworkers were forced to miss some of the shifts because of helmet batteries that took eight hours to recharge.

“The situation was delaying production and we felt that it was our duty as part of our international solidarity policy to provide those comrades with the relevant facilities in order to smoothen their work. It is very important for comrades to understand the meaning of solidarity, as many comrades are only ready to receive rather than to give.”

NUM, as the biggest union affiliated to COSATU, has played a significant role through its influence in the federation, an example of which is the two organisations' involvement in the Unity Talks, remembers Kgalema.

“Num had always had a stabilising impact in the federation and had it not been for the NUM, the federation might have taken a different turn.

“Now, as COSATU celebrates its 15 years of non-stop worker service, it should be its strategic task to fight for the implementation of 'one country one federation' and do anything in its power to mobilise the working class so that by the time it celebrates its 20th or 21st Anniversary, it will be representing the entire working class in this country.

He says that it remains the federation's challenge to organise all the independent unions in this country and to see to it that 'atypical' workers are accommodated too. “It is high time that workers in this country stop speaking in tongues and start speaking in one voice”, he emphasizes.