Volume 10, No.2 - March 2001
We're part of the union
Letters
Dear Editor
It is with great shock we communicate that the central zone of the Republic of Mozambique, concretely the provinces of Sofala, Tete, Manica and Zambezia are being devastated by floods due to heavy, torrential rains in the region.
The latest statistics indicate that 394 000 citizens were directly affected by floods, out of which 77 400 have been displaced. 52 persons have lost their lives in the four affected provinces.
Important economic and social infrastructures like health, education, roads, bridges, houses and agricultural networks have been destroyed and flooded, leaving thousands of people without minimum conditions for their survival.
To this effect the Mozambique Workers Organisation (OTM-CS) kindly appeals to all friendly organisations for solidarity assistance in terms of material and financial means to alleviate the sufferings of the affected population.
Financial assistance may be transferred through our Bank Account, No 210810215001/USD Banco Comercial de Mocambique, Av 25 de Setembro 1800, Maputo. Phone: 01 307 481/9 Fax: 01 307 544 Thanking you in anticipation for any assistance. Joaquim Fanheiro General Secretary, OTM-CS
Dear Editor,
We all normally come, or are employed, as 'raw workers'. We know nothing called management or industrial relations. We are mostly Standard 10 dropouts from schools. It is usually unions that take us up to its own ranks. It provides us with relevant education so as to produce well-equipped leaders in us. In the meantime, we develop some interest to go back to school as individuals.
Mostly we register privately for courses such as Production Management, Industrial Relations, etc. It is in registering these private courses that interesting challenges begin. For example, if you register for Production and Supervision courses, you will be told that you are now going to be unpopular. Why? It is because of the decisions that you are going to take as a supervisor. This becomes a reality when you now get to discipline undisciplined workers.
Disciplining people really makes supervisor's work difficult and this eventually makes you unpopular. It affects your social working situations with fellow workers as though you are the one who decides on the disciplinary measures.
Another pressure also comes from an employer who usually expects one to produce the best results with insufficient staff. You are forced to do whatever is in our power to meet these demands.
On the other hand, the union is defending its idle members, like latecomers. The worst thing concerning this is that, as a supervisor you are also in the bargaining team - a member of the union that is ridiculing you by defending fellow members.
You are in the middle of two bodies that are using you and care less about you. Being a supervisor is just making oneself unpopular. My suggestion to our branch and regional chairpersons of the unions is: as much as you are having your regional and branch shop steward councils, can you once in a month organize meetings with supervisors.
I know it is not constitutional, but maybe it will help in coming up with an understanding between supervisors and unionists. Issues of operations and misconduct prevention can be discussed. My understanding is that we are all leaders and we are having some allegiance.
If supervisors' support is not won in our companies, it will be easy for them to influence ignorant workers to agree on things like performance Management systems. Remember, we (supervisors) have got nothing to lose but just to make sure that we have dismissed almost the half of the company at the end of the year and the other half gets warnings. That is a good performance for us supervisors. It means threatened workers to the union.
'The Postman' Motherwell PE CWU Branch
Dear Editor,
I am directing this letter specifically to you, the Chief of COSATU, comrade Zwelinzima Vavi. I am confident you are going to look into the matter I am going to raise as my trust is put in to the federation, the only source that can ensure the liberation of workers.
We regard ourselves as workers but our employers don't understand that because we are working for the union.
Union officials regard themselves as workers not as partners, as it is often mentioned when making our demands.
We want to have our own forum to bargain with the employers and address dispute when the need arises. Union officials, who are fighting for the benefits of the workers, are unfortunately, too, the victims as they receive poor benefits from their respective employers.
This results in some of this officials resigning from their organizations. Worse still, for someone who has worked for abnormal hours and served the organization with no overtime, often even dies without getting pension. The only union official I know of who was able to get pension was from NUM in the Free State in 1987 after a wage strike.
One another thing that urged me to write this article is because of the PAWE article in the December Shopsteward. It talks about actors and actresses who came forward and established their own union to fight against poverty, bossism, and exploitation from their employees.
Union officials are also subjected to similar unacceptable working conditions these performers use to be subjected to. We negotiate benefits for workers whereas we don't have any.
My question to my co-workers is, when are we going to start coming together in a fight against the oppression facing us. I am sure that the reason is that comrades are afraid to come forward and express their views or it is because of different position we are holding within the union.
Comrades lets wake up and take the example actors and actresses set in order to change conditions we work under. The LRA is covering us as workers, and I think there should some way whereby a union for the union officials should be established.
Unions must have a uniform approach in all benefits that are given to union officials, including wages. Union officials are pillars of the workers and they are running union affairs on a daily basis as well as helping in building the ANC and COSATU, only to be victimized at the end. Many comrades are moving from the trade unions going to join other ranks because there is no protection for better living.
I wish to appreciate the courage of PAWE and President Ramolao Makhene in taking up the interests and the rights of actors and actresses forward.
We thought that you are free when we see you on TVs making entertainments for our families and us. COSATU has always been a vehicle of the working class at all times we therefore expect same treatment as workers.
From your comradely, Vusumuzi Mjakunca
Dear Editor
Remember, reading makes a man. The fact of the matter is that the Shopsteward cannot work in isolation.
The spirit of comradeship must and will finally work as a reinforcement. The Shopsteward is a force to be reckoned with. The intensive muscle of information should not be overlooked.
I therefore recommend that it should be sent door-to-door. This will be a milestone to our liberating federation, COSATU.
With the month nearing its end I strongly vow to pay my subscription. As a true comrade I pledge with effect from 26 April 2001 I will pay my debit order of R25 from my salary.
Kindly send me a debit order form. Yours in comrade spirit Majam Moloko SADTU Potchefstroom Branch
