shops 10.2

COSATU is organising a recruitment drive to win more workers to the trade union movement. These days the federation is recruiting many workers who do not fit the traditional image of a typical trade unionist. While many of our members still work in factories and mines, a growing number work in very different sectors of society, some of them in what some might regard as 'glamorous' professions - acting and sport.

Two of COSATU's most recent affiliates are the SA Footballer Players Union and the Performing Arts Workers' Equity. The Shopsteward asked Supersport United player John Moeti and film and TV actress Connie Chiume why they are part of the union.

The Soccer star that rises from the trade union

By Moloto Mothapo John "Dunga" Moeti is the founder member and national treasurer of the South African Football Players Union (SAFPU). He started football in the dusty streets of Soweto and has been a captain of both his former club, Orlando Pirates, and on several occasions, South African National Team. He is now with Supersport United. John tells The Shopsteward of his career in football, his involvement in the union, and the importance of the union in the football industry.

You have undoubtedly been successful in your football career. Where did you start?

I started football at a very early age in the streets of Meadowlands. I started playing organised soccer at seven when I joined the Meadowlands Black Leopards. I grew up playing for this team until 1984, when at seventeen I joined Lincoln City, which was under the Bophuthatswana Football Professional League.

From there I came back to Johannesburg and had a short spell with Orlando Pirates but I later quit due to academic commitments. I then joined another team in the then OK League that

I played for two to three years. In 1991 I then got an offer to play for National Soccer League team, Dynamos, from the former manager at my former club. My debut game in the Dynamos jersey was against Moroka Swallows; we drew 1-1. I played for Dynamos until 1993 when the team was relegated to the second division. I then joined Orlando Pirates again in the beginning of 1994. I left Pirates in 1999 due to contractual disputes and moved to Pretoria to join my current team, Supersport United.

It must have been a difficult decision to leave Pirates for Supersport United. Can you say you are now satisfied with the current team?

Of course it was not an easy decision I made. But due to my personal principles I had to make a choice. I felt I served the team (Pirates) loyally for so long and I deserved a better treatment from the team management, but unfortunately we failed to reach an agreement.

However, I don't regret leaving Orlando Pirates. I am at Supersport united now and I must say I'm happy. It is a very big team with financial backing and potential. There is no doubt it will establish itself to be along the lines of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

How would you compare your time at Pirates, where you were also a captain, and at Supersport United?

Well there is quite a big difference between both experiences, with regard to the difference in both teams. Orlando Pirates have got a huge support and won lots of trophies. As one of the oldest teams and it also has a history of its own. Whereas Supersport United is quit a young team, only four years old, and it does not enjoy similar support as Pirates. However, I think it is now on the right track with regard to the enticing of supporters. But I must as well say that playing for Pirates was a big thing; it was an honour, as compared to Supersport United that is seen as just another team.

How did it feel being a captain of a big team as Pirates?

For me it was such a great honour and an achievement, being a captain of such a big team. It was really something out of this world.

Your contribution in the National Team?

I am very proud of my contribution in the national team. I think I have made an immense contribution towards the success and the recognition of the South African football through Bafana Bafana. I have also been a captain of the team for a number of times, which for me is a huge achievement. I believe I have done my part.

What is your greatest moment in your football career you can remember?

Well, I can remember two wonderful moments. The first was when we won the Africa Club Championship in Abidjan with Orlando Pirates. It was the greatest moment, considering that it was our first attempt. Nobody gave us a chance and we surprised the whole African continent. The second was when we won the African Nations Cup in Tunisia with Bafana Bafana in 1996. It was also our first attempt and we lifted the trophy in our backyard. However, what makes it even sweeter with Pirates was the fact that we were away from home and we managed to do it against all odds.

How does John Moeti, a soccer player, and trade unionism mix?

Firstly my understanding of trade unions is that they are there to protect the interest of the workers, to make sure that working conditions are friendly to the workers and to see to it that they are not exploited. I feel that footballers are not different to any ordinary workers. They provide service and earn salaries in return. I also felt that there is a lot of exploitation going on in the South African soccer and through my experiences I thought that something needed to be done to improve the working conditions in this industry, to build a relationship between the club bosses and the players and to make the bosses regard players as valuable entities. That is why I saw the importance of being part of SAFPU.

Has the union been recognized and accepted by relevant football administration?

The formation of SAFPU met with a lot of resistance from the PSL, SAFA and the clubs. However, I hope that as time goes on they will start to understand the importance of the union. And I'm confident that once this understanding prevails, these attitudes and perceptions will start to change as well.

Might some reluctance from other players to join the union be attributed to these attitudes and perceptions from club bosses and football administrators?

Players in this country have been previously victimised and through such bad experiences some players are scared of coming out and join the union. They are afraid of the intimidation. Most of them have football as their only source of income and they are afraid of being on the wrong side of their bosses.

Do you think SAFPU has done or is doing enough in conscientising the players about the importance of the union?

We have been visiting clubs and holding meetings with players but it has been difficult in some instances due to resistance from club officials. However, we managed to recruit about 80% of the country's professional soccer players. I really think this is an achievement for the union considering that we lack resource, offices, etc.

Given the importance of a good relationship between the union and the club bosses, how are you going to establish that?

I think that this can only be established through negotiations and most importantly, through communications. I believe that it is through communications that we can find each other and develop such relationship.

Has the establishment of the footballers' union made an impact in the industry, especially in a fight against unfair employment conditions?

It has, really. SAFPU has won a number of cases through the CCMA over contractual disputes and unfair dismissals. An example is case of Edward Motale who was suspended without payment at Moroka Swallows, and we won it. And I think such victories will serve as an indication that SAFPU really is achieving good results and normalising the situation amongst our people.

What challenges the union is facing at the moment?

We still have a challenge of convincing SAFA and PSL to recognize and accept us as important role players in this industry. I think we are getting there. Another challenge is educating the members (players) about their rights and the importance of the union, as well as building a good working relationship with the PSL, SAFA and club bosses.

What is the importance of SAFPU's affiliation to COSATU?

The importance is primarily based on support, as COSATU is one giant of a labour movement. Therefore, as a new entrant in the labour politics, we needed to align ourselves with a federation that has a great reputation and can give us support and guidance we need.

Your future in football?

My future in football is still promising and I'm intending to play for the next four to five years. Can we expect your come-back in the national team? Well, that is a difficult one. However, I would like to, if SAFA gives me a chance.

Actors unite! There is still a long way to go

Moloto Mothapo and Yolande Mokhantso spoke to Connie Chiume

Many will believe that the glitz and glamour of the world of showbiz and the serious, lengthy, political negotiations of the world of trade unionism are like water and oil.

Well, believe it or not, the two fit like a hand in a glove. One of the new COSATU affiliates, the Performing Arts Workers Equity (PAWE), comes from this rather unusual sector - entertainment!

However, don't be misled. As TV and movie actress and PAWE founding member, Connie Chiume, emphasises, these actors are also workers. "It is not all glitz and glamour. We often have to get up at 3 am to rehearse and work under hot lights for hours. We too need representation like workers from any other labour sector.

" Connie is a retired teacher and a talented actress who, stared in movies such as The Line, I Dreamed of Africa and The Air Up There and TV dramas such as Soul City, Khululeka, and Sgudi's Nice and educational and documentary programmes. She says since its establishment PAWE has made an impact in this industry.

Although there is lack of concrete relationship between the union and employees, things are far much better than before. Having a union representing the industry's artists is one of the cornerstones within the country's showbiz, considering the apartheid legacy in the sector. She says that she doesn't understand why a certain number of artists within the industry do not understand the importance of belonging to a union.

"There is no worker that does not need a union." "It's a pity because even performing artists in places such as Hollywood where they have well established industries still belong to unions," says Connie. She says that as in any other industry in this country, unacceptable working conditions are still rife in the acting industry.

"There are producers and production companies which are still clinging to the type of operations of the past regime, people whose major concern is just to make lots of money at the expense of the poorly treated artists," she says.

One special problem is the use of workers from overseas who no longer need work permits. "They come in on a tourist visa and just do what they like. Yet we have everything the producers need here - professional technicians, cheap labour, locations."

She says that artists who are in the industry at the moment should wake up and support the union in a fight for the betterment of conditions in this industry so that when new artists joins in, they are able to continue where they left off.

"We've got students from Technikons and Universities who are studying Arts. They should find things better when they join the industry. They should know that it is their right to be accommodated in acceptable places during shootings and that they should have their SNTs when travelling, and so on," adds Connie.

"Maybe some of the reasons behind other industry members' reluctance to join the union might be the comfort some of them enjoy in profitable contracts or they are scared of 'endangering' their relationship with producing companies."

"What they don't know perhaps is that they are ripping the fruits sown by actor activists and PAWE," she emphasizes. One of those fruits, Connie says, is the obtaining of payments to artists for airing repeats of TV dramas they acted in, as well as the achievement of the compulsory PAWE contract established between the SABC and production companies. She adds that a lot still has to be done by PAWE to change the short-sighted perceptions form some of the artists.

"We know that we cannot overcome such problems alone. That is the reason why we've joined COSATU, so that we can speak with a stronger voice.

"We need to achieve basic necessities such as medical aids, pension funds and also training of shop stewards so as to provide information to members. And we are confident that under COSATU we can achieve that," she says.

PAWE has embarked on a recruitment campaign to entice more members to the union and get the members to pay their subs. "We've been putting posters all over theatres depicting the crème de la crème of SA artists, inviting performing arts students from various institutions around the country, as well as going to shooting sets explaining PAWE to artists and inviting them to meetings," she says, adding that, however, other strategies are being explored by the union in order to intensify this campaign.

Connie also says that PAWE should play an educational role to the public, to teach them of the nature of its members' work. "People are now complaining that they are tired of seeing same faces on television. SA has only a handful of TV channels, unlike in America; that's why we are seen many times. It's our job. That's what we do. We never hear anyone saying they are tired of finding the same nurse in certain hospital."

PAWE, a member of the Federation for International Actors (FIA), will strive to fulfil COSATU's campaign of "one industry, one union". "We need to mobilise also people from sectors such as modelling and dancing, as well as looking at ways to merge with the music union MUSA for the formation of a stronger union."

Connie's message to workers is: "Let's continue with the struggle for equality in the workplace because we are not quite there yet; we still have a long way to go. Let's not give up the fight now. The economy of the country is not yet in the hands of the people".