Volume 10, No.5 - August 2001

Privatisation

Trade unions news

COSATU Exco
SACP_COSATU bilateral

Madiba addresses COSATU ExCo

The COSATU Executive Committee met on 24-25 July and considered a broad range of organisational, political, socio-economic and international issues. This is a summary of the meeting's decisions.
On 26 July the ExCo held a bilateral meeting with the South African Communist Party, which is covered in a separate statement (below).

The alliance

The ExCo received a progress report on preparations for the Alliance Summit, which is now scheduled to take place on 22 September 2001. Originally it was supposed to take place on 18-19 August but due to logistical and other preparations had to be postponed to September. ExCo endorsed this postponement as unavoidable.

The Summit is very significant in alliance relations in the current period. It will deal with serious questions that have confronted the alliance for a long time.
The main aim of the summit will be to define the role of the alliance in the current period, relations within the alliance and the alliance relationship with governance processes.
Among other issues, the alliance summit will discuss the state of the National Democratic Revolution, challenges facing the alliance, protocols to govern alliance relations and the alliance programme for transformation.

ExCo agreed to a phased approach to deal with contentious issues within the alliance. Therefore there will be a series of meeting intended to iron out a number of outstanding issues. This summit will lay the basis for future summits to deal with controversial questions like the government's macroeconomic policy.

ExCo was unanimous in its position that the alliance still represents the only vehicle to transform South African society. Those current debates within the alliance do not signal that imminent break-up of the alliance as prophesised in the media but the quest to make the alliance the actual driver of transformation.

Anti-privatisation campaign

A report on the anti-privatisation campaign was tabled at the ExCo. The campaign is gathering momentum and is being supported by many communities now confronted with electricity and telecommunication cuts.
It is also important to dispel the myths that have been projected in the media during the past few days. The alliance meeting on 16 July took place to find a political solution to the differences around privatisation.

The meeting was confidential to ensure frank and open discussion within the alliance and it is regrettable that a document purporting to reflect the discussions was leaked. Those who leaked the contents of the discussion are irresponsible and have no desire to see an amicable settlement of the issues. The leaked document has no status and actually paints an inaccurate picture of the discussions.

HIV/AIDS

EXCO was addressed by comrade Nelson Mandela who made a passionate plea for union leaders to become champions in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Comrade Mandela was worried that the message is not penetrating the remotest areas of our country and that 46% of the people polled by his foundation said they had learnt nothing about HIV/AIDS during the last year.

The ExCo decided to intensify COSATU's HIV/AIDS campaign focusing on prevention, raising awareness around HIV/AIDS and treatment strategies. Every union leader was urged to inform each meeting about HIV/AIDS to ensure that they raise the anti-HIV/AIDS Message. COSATU will step its campaign during the 16 days of activism, culminating in the International AIDS Day on 1 December 2001.

COSATU will also call for the expansion of SANAC to ensure that it is fully representative.
Further COSATU calls for a national civil society conference to discuss how to take forward the issue of HIV/AIDS and a National Treatment Plan.

World Conference against Racism

EXCO discussed the forthcoming World Conference against Racism scheduled to take place later August in Durban. It is an honour that this Conference takes place in Durban after seven years of democracy in South Africa. It signals the progress that we have made as a people against the apartheid monstrosity. COSATU will attend the Conference as part of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions delegation. It will also attend the NGO Forum on 30 August 2001. (See the feature on Pages …)

Swaziland

Jan Sithole (General Secretary) and Richard Nxumalo (President) of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions addressed the ExCo on the political situation in Swaziland.
ExCo decided to condemn the recent attacks on human and trade union rights and adds its voice to the calls for free political activity. COSATU calls on SADC and the international community to put pressure on the Swazi regime.

Exco called on the COSATU members to refuse to handle goods to and from Swaziland and will support the blockade when it is called.
COSATU will further table the matter before the alliance and with government. Lastly our members are called upon to donate blankets and other necessities to the refugees fleeing the repression in Swaziland.
Exco expressed concern at the imbalance in the South African media between the low-key coverage of the latest assaults on democracy and human and trade union rights in Swaziland, compared to the highlighting of attacks on democracy in other countries.

Labour Law Negotiations

ExCo received a progress report on negotiations around and the labour law and was generally satisfied with progress so far.

Central Committee and Month of the Member

The Central Committee originally scheduled to take place in September has been postponed to 9-22 November. It will take a hard look on the organisation and develop a plan to reposition the organisation in the new millennium. October has been declared 'The Month of the Member'. All affiliates will mobilise their members to recruit, organise, educate workers on HIV/AIDS and occupational health and safety and debate how best COSATU can be strengthened to meet the challenge of serving our members. See Pages… for more details.

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions

The General Secretary reported on the recent ICFTU Executive Board meeting in
Genoa at which he submitted a document, a summary of which is on Pages
The EXCO committed itself to support a first-ever International Trade Union Day of Action on 9 November 2001, coinciding with the next World Trade Organisation Summit in Qatar - see the article on Page .

Build working class power to deepen national liberation and struggle for socialism

The South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) held a successful national bilateral meeting .This meeting took place in the context of a series of bilateral and trilateral meetings between the ANC, SACP and COSATU. The meeting also took place as part of the lead-up to the ANC-SACP-COSATU Alliance Summit scheduled for 22 September.

In its agenda, this meeting discussed the following matters: -

The SACP and COSATU agree that many important gains for working people and the poor have been made since 1994, including progressive labour and other legislation, outlawing of racism and repression, ongoing democratisation, and the delivery of basic services to millions of our people.

However, these gains are often overshadowed by massive job losses over the past seven years, one million in the formal sector. This week Statistics SA has announced that the official unemployment figure has now risen to 26%, with the expanded definition of unemployment now at 38%.

Through casualisation, contracting out and outsourcing bosses are further seeking to subvert our democratic social, political and economic gains. Big companies are also not investing the profits produced by workers in job-creation and development.

The SACP and COSATU agree that, fundamentally, the difficulties we are encountering are a function of seeking to transform our society on the terrain of a society, and a world, still dominated by capitalism.

However, the two formations agreed that as a movement we could have done better. In particular, the 1996 adoption by government of the GEAR policy, marked a significant policy shift and, in practice, an attempt to use capitalist means to achieve the goals of our shared national democratic vision.

GEAR and the related privatisation programme have failed to achieve the fundamental restructuring of our society, and in many respects these policies have taken us backwards. We agreed that, while there are serious policy disagreements, the alliance remains united around its long-term vision of a non-racial, non-sexist, united and democratic South Africa.
The alliance is the only vehicle capable of achieving these objectives.

The meeting agreed that the way forward includes:

The meeting expressed support and solidarity with striking workers, including those in Eskom and in the mining sector.
Further meetings are planned to carry forward our discussions and programme of action.

"Declare war on AIDS!" Madiba tells COSATU

On 25 July the COSATU Executive Committee was addressed by former President Nelson Mandela, who had asked to speak on a subject on which he feels very strongly - HIV/AIDS. This is what he said.

Whenever we talk about HIV/AIDS the word 'crisis' immediately comes to mind. In many ways this has served to deaden our thoughts about just how big a crisis HIV/AIDS indeed is. It is like the message on a cigarette pack; we are told that smoking will kill us, yet we continue to smoke.
Perhaps we need to remind ourselves just how big a crisis HIV/AIDS really is.

There is a story which minister Skweyiya told me. In the Northern Province, he came to a village where both parents in a family had died, leaving three children, the eldest 8, the next 4 and the youngest 2. That child of 8 has become the parent; he does go to school but he is the parent. The neighbours give them food but they put the food in a plastic bag and stand outside the door and throw it in. Now that is done because of the perception that if you are in the same room with an AIDS person, you will be infected.

Now you might think that this is something that happens only in South Africa. But when I was in jail I read of a case in Germany, one of the leading country in Europe. There was a judge on the bench, the public prosecutor, the clerk of the court, the audience and the accused in the witness box, who announced during the trial: "I've got AIDS". The judge, public prosecutor and the audience ran out.

It took the British Princess Diana to smash that attitude, when people saw that their British Princess had gone to a hospital with AIDS sufferers, shaken their hands, sat on their beds, started conversing with them… and nothing happened.

We also need to ask ourselves why HIV/AIDS continue to spread in spite of the numerous efforts and the millions of rands being spent to educate people about the disease. Many of these efforts are of high quality and those implementing those programs are people of integrity.
In a recent survey commissioned by my foundation it was found that HIV/AIDS awareness programmes are not reaching all South Africans. There are many barriers - cultural, linguistic and geographic.

Awareness, where it occurs, does not necessarily translate into behaviour changes. There continues to be mistrust of the message and the medium. It was found only 1% of South Africans listened to the media whether it emanates from the government or NGOs. 46% of South Africans said they had learnt nothing about HIV/AIDS during last year.

If we evaluate the various awareness programmes, I am sure that we'll find all kinds of technical reasons for their apparent inability, when take cumulatively, to make any real impact on people's attitudes towards HIV/AIDS. Yes the programmes can be strengthened and my foundation intends helping many of the organisations fight the spread of the disease.

My own belief is that anti-AIDS message is not succeeding because of the major obstacle: stigmatisation. There is still a huge sense of shame attached to the disease. Those who become HIV positive are often seen as simply promiscuous, when in fact the truth is far more complex.
How many individuals have infected their partners because they are afraid to acknowledge to themselves that they are HIV positive or cannot speak about their infection for fear of alienating their loved ones?

There are also so many myths about how HIV is spread. There people who believe that the disease can be contracted by simply being into same room as someone who is HIV positive.
This results in a culture of secrecy and denial. It inhibits voluntary testing on a nationwide scale. This is the only way we can really establish the true extent of the disease, its geographic patterns and its age and gender distribution,

Furthermore, the refusal or inability to speak openly about the disease, especially in our rural areas and among other traditional societies makes it difficult to develop effective education campaigns about AIDS.

The time has come for South Africans to make a concerted effort to fight the stigmatisation of those who are HIV positive, those who are dying of AIDS. And it is time for South Africans to stop saying that it is someone else's responsibility to combat this illness. It is the responsibility of every South Africa.

Of course this process of developing champions of a cause requires catalysts - individuals who influence the opinions of others.
It should start with each member of the Amakhosi talking frankly to his people. It should extend to members of parliament devoting the first 10% of every speech to this topic, to every doctor talking to their patients during each consultation. Every trade union leader, every shop steward, every employer should during the course of their daily work ask: what can we do to stop the spread of HIV?

This country should develop an army of anti-AIDS campaigners. They should regard AIDS as an enemy our country is at war with. They should fight this war every day from the shop floor, from the offices, on sports fields and in classrooms.

Perhaps we can make a start here today. How many commanders of this anti-AIDS army will come forward from the leaders of the trade union movement? You need to be bold and vociferous. We cannot just rely on political leaders, on billboards and TV adverts to spread the message.

It should be spread by word of mouth from comrade to comrade, from worker to worker, until we have defeated this dreadful enemy called AIDS, saying to people: "AIDS is not a curse that we must deny; it is an illness that can be defeated." Resisting the continued stigmatisation of HIV positive people is not only a compassionate act, it is practical and pragmatic.

The Organisational Review and the Central Committee

The 7th National Congress resolved to establish an Organisational Review Commission, rather than deal with organisational review in a piecemeal and ad-hoc fashion. The mandate of the Commission is to review the entire organisation and develop proposals on how to reposition the organisation in the current context. The Commission will table its report to the Central Committee taking place in November 2001.

The members of the Commission are: Willy Madisha, Joe Nkosi, Joyce Pekane, Zwelinzima Vavi, Bheki Ntshalintshali, Alina Rantsolase, Xola Phakathi, Amon Ntuli, Randall Howard, Ebrahim Patel, Petrus Mashishi, Slumko Nondwangu, Gwede Mantashe; Rose Makwane, Mahlengi Bhengu, Crystal Dicks, Thobile Yanta, Bobby Marie, Mncedisi Nontsele, and Oupa Bodibe.

As the September Commission pointed out, external environmental challenges pose particular challenges for a re-look and re-evaluation of our internal organisational practices and approaches. Particular problems around this area identified for organisational review (outlined in the September Commission and which were revealed through further research and experience) include:

This is heightened by increased staff demoralisation and dissatisfaction.

The Organisational Review process currently underway is the first attempt at a holistic overview of the organisation since the September Commission. It builds on, and in certain respects advances, the work of the September Commission and the Special Congress Resolutions on repositioning the organisation. The mandate of the Organisational Review Commission is to review the political environment, the organising strategies and service to members, organisational structures and leadership development, management and staff development.

The final report of the Commission will be published at the end of October 2001 for discussions in affiliates, regions, and locals and on the factory floor. Before then, there is a series of meetings and workshops planned to debate the issues facing the organisation in order to have a coherent report.

This includes the extended CEC that will take place on 19-20 September 2001. All these processes will culminate in the Central Committee that will take place on 19-22 November 2001. The Central Committee will debate the report and recommendations based on mandated positions from the affiliates. Prepare yourself to contribute towards reshaping the future of the Federation and its affiliates.

Make October the 'month of the member'

By Mncedisi Nontsele, COSATU Organising Secretary

COSATU's 7th National Congress mandated us to launch a recruitment campaign, which must be taken forward in a sustained way, rather than as just another event. It must primarily aim to unionise all workers, particularly those outside the federation, maintain a strong labour movement, strengthen all affiliates and enable them to face the new challenges emerging.

The onset of globalisation and its neo-liberal underpinnings, brought about by the need to maximise profits through the capital-intensive measures such as automation and outsourcing, has displaced thousands of workers from formal forms of employment.

Major industries, such as mining, have carved their institutions into core and non-core businesses, with those deemed non-core being outsourced. This has led to a shrinking of the industrial base, as more workers have moved into new and less established companies employing fewer workers.

The overall effect has been a decline in the number of unionised workers, as more and more industries opt for this route. This has impacted on the stability of the labour market, limiting unions' ability to continue to provide services and retain membership.

Under the impact of accelerating retrenchments and unemployment, casualisation is also on the rise, causing a continuously growing informal sector where large numbers of workers have largely remained non-unionised.

Recently a number of major companies, notably in the retail sector, have taken the route of franchising, resulting in the destruction of formal employment in the sector and massive casualisation being introduced almost overnight.

With the decline in formal employment, the defined scope of existing bargaining councils has meant that more workers fall outside them, hence the drastic decline in the numbers of workers represented in these institutions.

Around 40% of employed workers in both formal and informal sectors are unionised. With the drastic decline and shedding of jobs, this percentage figure has been steadily declining. These are just some of the critical areas that the recruitment campaign has to respond to.

Breaking new ground

The April Central Executive Committee mandated us to ensure that this campaign kicks off during October and is a success, on which future campaigns can continue to build.
During the period leading to the liquidation of the apartheid state, organising unions was very simple, as the issues involved were clear to everyone. Apartheid was much easier to fight and rally everyone against, as the employment patterns and labour laws were largely influenced by the racist power relations of the time.

The new conditions have brought about new challenges for the trade union movement to contend with. The changing environment at the workplace forces unions to adapt, but without diluting their militancy and commitment to socialism. Unions must provide an appropriate base and security to the 'new worker' who is well educated and less politicised/unionised. Importantly, many of this group are youth and women. We must carefully examine how we reach out to meet their needs.

Historically it has been narrowly understood that COSATU, or militant trade unions generally, are only about the blue-collar workers. COSATU has in recent years has disproved this shortsighted view, as more white-collar unions such as SADTU, DENOSA, SADNU affiliated to the Federation.

With privatisation and outsourcing resulting in jobs being lost, the need for all levels and categories of workers to be unionised under the banner of COSATU is now central. As part of our overall recruitment strategy, we need to ensure that the 'new worker' sees militant trade unions as a spear and COSATU as a shield.

The key question is how do we ensure that we ensure that these 'new workers' are not just a retained as statistics but are consolidated and serve as an important catalyst in the organisation of those still unorganised.

We need to ensure that the informal sector is formalised but part of our strategy to realise this goal is to ensure that workers in this area are organised.
So far the work undertaken has been rather to scratch the surface that to make a big impact. The organisation of taxi drivers, farmworkers, domestics has rather been very slow.

Unfortunately affiliates do not seem to have comprehensive programmes, with short-, medium- and long-term strategies, to ensure their continued presence within their sectors or to organize in the new sectors.

Affiliates are the backbone of the Federation and if they cannot grow and retain membership it means doom to COSATU. That the campaign had to be postponed from March to October, largely as a result of lack of information from affiliates on their sectoral strategies, must be regretted.

In order for the campaign to proceed successfully, it is incumbent upon affiliates to develop their sectoral programmes, clearly setting out what their priorities are for recruitment, how they intend using sectoral councils to maximise on their resources and power and how they intend to remain dominant in their sectors.

Some affiliates - NEHAWU, SAMWU, NUM to mention but a few - have recently committed themselves to achieving specific targets that must be realisable within specific timeframes, as part of their recruitment strategies.

The recruitment campaign will be kicking off in October 2001, the 'month of the member'. All affiliates will need to have fully developed their programmes, committed resources and submitted these to COSATU before the end of August. We will be soon convening a national trainers' training programme for recruiters and handing out recruitment material.

 

Timetable towards the recruitment campaign
Submission of affiliates programmes   31 August
National Recruiters Workshop   Early September
National Launch   21 September (Linked to CEC)
Regional Recruiters Workshop   24 - 28 September
Recruitment Campaign Targets   Informal Sector: 01 - 12 October
Sectoral Programmes   15 - 31 October