Thousands of workers laid down their lives for basic trade union rights and the franchise as a cherished human right. The monument of their sacrifices is today's labour movement and is best immortalised by the shopsteward. Unions, from the Industrial and Commercial Union (ICU) of the 1920's through to the Council for Non-European Trade Unions (Cnetu) to Sactu, Fosatu, and Tucsa (as a negative example) have bequeathed much to Cosatu. It is from these forerunners that Cosatu has forged an organising style that distinguishes the federation from its counterparts.
Earlier organising styles
The birth of the modern trade union movement after the repression of the 1960's and the banning of the ANC and PAC, and the exiling of Sactu, dates back to the 1973 strikes in Durban. Following this, various industrial unions were formed which eventually resulted in the formation of Fosatu. Other unions grouped themselves in Cusa.
Fosatu's organising style was characterised by deliberate, painstakingly slow, plant-by-plant building of shopfloor structures. It was an approach which emphasised small gains and the survival of the organisation. This incrementalism was dictated by the relative lack of resources. It was also an approach which eschewed a "premature" involvement in politics, running counter to the early strand of social movement unionism of Sactu (as evidenced by Sactu's alliance with the ANC and the "Pound-a-day" campaign).
The experience of the NUM, launched by Cusa in 1982, changed the face of union politics. The NUM brought with it a more popular style of mass mobilisation. This was made possible in part by the conditions under which mineworkers lived and laboured. The mine hostels and compounds, and the large number of migrants employed, presented the union with a kind of "captive market". Rapid growth was indeed possible. Unlike with the early Fosatu organising methods, a movement, as opposed to a cadre base, was the result. Activists were elected as shopstewards. Today the NUM remains Cosatu's leading union in numbers and perhaps organisation.
These two organising styles shared a common organising principle.
At the heart of both manufacturing and mining was the principle of worker control, anchored in the shopstewards' committees.
Organising principles
What were the organising principles that underpinned Cosatu? And, in the context of transition and transformation, will the next ten years see Cosatu's rank and file clinging to them as dearly? Many of the broad organising principles are codified in the preamble to the Cosatu constitution, some less specifically so. As Cosatu enters the next decade, these questions merit some examination.
Paid-up membership
Representation in affiliate and federation structures is on the basis of, and proportional to, paid-up membership. Only when workers pay their trade union dues can they expect to control elected and appointed leadership. In this context, trade union dues become not only a means of financing union activities, but also a guarantee that those who pay the piper, call the tune. This principle is important for according a union its commensurate influence and voting strength, say, in an industrial council where it "competes" with other unions.
Shopfloor organisation and worker leadership
Unlike the British situation where shopstewards were seen as a rival to the established leadership, Cosatu put shopstewards at its core.
The election of shopstewards, and the establishment of shopstewards committees was its most important organisational focus, centred on worker leadership. You could not become a union leader (office-bearer) if you were not a shopsteward in the union. Full-time positions were often held by former academics, students, or political activists. But they were subject to workers' control. In practice, worker majorities in all committees (as opposed to paid, full-time officials) was meant to keep a check on intellectual domination.
Workplace based shopsteward committees give rise to higher levels of shopsteward organisation and coordination at affiliate branch/local and regional level. Shopsteward committees of different affiliates in a particular industrial or geographical area come together to make up the Cosatu local. In this way, it continues to be possible for workers to play a role in local, regional and national political and development issues.
Democratic process
The democratic process of the emergent union movement was founded on three principles. In putting forward workers' views, their representatives had to canvass views within union structures. This mandating process required that only the views and positions agreed upon in worker-controlled structures could be represented, and faithfully so. Where this was required to be changed, it could only be done with the consent of the original mandating structure, or such other structure agreed to beforehand. For example, if during wage negotiations the negotiating team wishes to recommend settlement on less favourable terms than their mandate, a renewed mandate is required from the structure giving the mandate.
A further requirement was that wherever mandated positions were to be represented, whether to other workers or in negotiations with the bosses, those giving the mandate were entitled to be informed of the responses to their position. It was thus incumbent on the representing officials, workers or structures to report back.
The final component of the democratic process is the right to recall leadership where it is felt they do not act in the best interests of workers. In this way, workers are able to exercise control over their elected leadership, and act as a safeguard against personal ambition or gain.
Industrial unionism
Around the slogan "one union, one industry", the launching congress decision to merge the 33 founding unions into ten sectoral affiliates was important for building a tight federation. In Cosatu, industrial unionism was strengthened because it had to be achieved by the protracted and sometimes discordant programme of mergers. A further requirement, that industrial/sectoral affiliates be nationally based, has meant that they could not escape their obligations to organise in areas they considered to be difficult.
Non-racialism
In the unity talks leading to Cosatu's formation, this was to prove a thorny issue. Black conciousness-oriented unions from Cusa and Azactu argued for anti-racism. Fosatu and the "community unions" - Saawu, Gawu, A/FCWU, etc. contended that non-racialism was not simply a means to accommodate the many white intellectuals who had made common cause with the union movement, often in leadership positions. To build a vision of a united working class, it had to be enshrined in the character of a new federation. It was to prove one of the issues over which the Cusa/Azactu unions were to part company with those who eventually went to Durban in December 1985. Now, ten years later, it is apparent that Cosatu is beginning to reap the benefits of non-racialism. That large numbers of white finance workers in Sasbo are not uncomfortable in Cosatu, or that the SAA's still largely white cabin crew want only Sarhwu to negotiate for them, is testimony to this.
A tight and disciplined national centre
From the outset, Cosatu stressed the need for decisions of the federation to be binding on affiliates. This was Fosatu's single biggest contribution to Cosatu. A looser federation, it was argued, would be incapable of uniting its members in action on issues affecting the working class and its allies. The difference between Cosatu and other federations on this score is stark. No other federation has ever been able to mount a campaign of any significance, either on its own or in alliance with other forces. Often members of other federations would observe Cosatu calls to action, even in defiance of their own centre's wishes. The federation's funds are centrally administered, with ultimate answerability residing in the national office bearers
Politically independant but willing to act in alliance
At Cosatu's launch, Cyril Ramaphosa (then NUM general secretary) contended that alliances with other progressive organisations must be on terms favourable to workers. He added that, "when we do plunge into political activity, we must make sure that unions under Cosatu have a strong shopfloor base, not only to take on employers, but the state as well". This signified a change from the Fosatu tradition. However, the different political currents that came to make up Cosatu were at one that when in alliance with political organisations with a proven track record, organisational independence of trade unions was paramount.
Militant unionism
The ICU was the first non-racial national trade union to take a political stance against racism and exploitation. Its constitution called for the basis of remuneration to be the principle "from every man according to his abilities, to every man according to his needs". Cosatu's rallying cry, "an injury to one is an injury to all", is a recognition of the universal solidarity of workers. While strike activity has come to be the ultimate test of trade union militancy, in the future this may not necessarily be so. The willingness of unions to organise and engage in clear programmes of action in defence of workers' rights may move them to a more co-determinist stance.
Internationalism
Cosatu's constitutional preamble calls for "progressive international worker contact and solidarity". Over the first ten years, Cosatu has been mainly a beneficiary of such contact and solidarity. However, with the rapid globalisation of the world economy and the growing pace at which links are being created between workers in different parts of the world, there is now greater scope for the federation to be a provider of international solidarity. With Africa and the Third World marginalised by the new international order, Cosatu will seek a new and dynamic role for trade unions at international level.