General Secretary of Cosatu Zwelinzima Vavi address the CEPPWAWU Congress in Cape Town07 - 08 - 08 |
Speech by Zwelinzima Vavi, COSATU General Secretary, to the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers' Union National Congress, 7 August 2008Comrades National Office Bearers and members of the National Executive Committee;
Delegates and distinguished guests;
It is always an honour and a great privilege to be given the opportunity to address the workers’ parliament. I bring greetings from the leadership collective of COSATU and the rest of the federation’s membership. I wish you all the best in your congress and hope that you emerge determined, more focused and recommitted to building a strong, vibrant and dynamic organisation.
It has become customary to say ‘your congress take place at a historic moment’ in our address to meetings, making the phrase almost meaningless. I am sure that you will agree with me that this congress occurs at a tumultuous time in the history of our movement and revolution. Just yesterday COSATU pulled off a successful general strike to protest against the rising cost of electricity and food. We owe our success to you the members and leaders of CEPPWAWU and other COSATU unions.
It goes without saying that congress affords us an opportunity to assess the achievements of the past period and plot the way forward. My hope is that in reviewing the past period, the balance sheet will indicate more achievements than failures. Again it is due to the commitment and dedication of members and leaders at all levels of the organisation that we can gather here today. I salute all these dedicated unsung heroes for keeping the movement intact through trials and tribulations.
South Africa is going through a period of adjustment following the successful and historic ANC 52nd Conference in Polokwane. The Polokwane outcome is a result of painstaking work led by the federation and other progressive forces. We worked hard to ensure that the ANC returned to its values of internal democracy and popular participation. Again, the outcome is due to the work of countless ANC, COSATU and SACP activists who worked tirelessly to ensure a progressive result in Polokwane. Not only has the Conference ushered in a new leadership; it also gives us renewed hope that we are on the threshold of a new era that will put working class interests as the national interests.
We now have a responsibility to lead the rest of society and rally it around the outcome of the Polokwane Conference. We also have a duty to defend the progressive outcome of the Polokwane conference from the right-wing offensive. So-called democrats are appalled by the masses asserting their democratic right to determine the direction of their movement. Equally important, on us now rests the burden to cement the unity of the movement and the democratic forces.
The task given to us by the 2015 Plan, adopted at our last congress, is more relevant than ever. COSATU members resolved that the second decade of democracy should belong to the poor and the working class. This was informed by the observation that capital has enjoyed a bonanza of profits and CEOs reaped hefty bonuses and pay packages, while workers have to survive on meagre incomes. On the other hand, the black blue collar workers have borne the brunt of economic adjustment introduced by GEAR. The wages of the working class have virtually remained unchanged in the last fifteen years, with more workers in the formal sector earning less than R3000 per month.
We do not deny the democratic gains made by the working class since 1994. It is also not undeniable that unemployment doubled and poverty worsened between 1994 and 2000 due to the adjustment policy. State programme to provide social services to the poor were undermined by cost recovery, privatisation and fiscal and monetary restraint. On top of the apartheid social and economic deficit were added the pain of adjustment to the austerity measures of the GEAR. Many in government hailed the austerity programme as a success. We believe that the operation has left serious side effects on the economy and the working class.
In the current economic climate, in which the working class face harsh social and economic reality, the change of direction in policy is now more urgent. If we continue on the trajectory of stabilisation as the key pillar of economic policy, it is very likely that our aspirations for shared and equitable growth may not be realised. It is time for pro-poor and pro-working class economic policy as the current economic policy regime is not addressing the underlying causes of under-development in South Africa. Growth on its own will not result in the kind of structural transformation envisaged in the Freedom Charter and the RDP.
We know that the apartheid legacy cannot be eradicated in one generation but this is no justification for the slow progress in improving the material conditions of the black people. As we approach the 20th anniversary of the democratic breakthrough in 2014 we need to see progress in the material conditions of the black working class, especially for the youth and African women. Otherwise the democratic breakthrough will be meaningless to a large portion of our people who may be tempted to believe apartheid was better.
Our people still have confidence in the ANC and I have no doubt that they will vote overwhelmingly for the movement in the next election. This is a movement they have trusted for almost ninety years. In turn the ANC has a duty not to disappoint the expectations of the people to be liberated from national, class and gender oppression. It goes without saying that the election manifesto must reflect the desires of the ANC‘s constituency and aspirations. In addition, the manifesto must inform the programmes of the state. Against this background I wish to reiterate the COSATU resolution for an Alliance Programme for transformation of our society.
We expect that the new ANC leadership will listen carefully to the desires of the working class and respond positively. We are encouraged by the new mood in the alliance and commit ourselves to working hard to ensure unity. However it is not unity at all costs! It must be a unity that is based on a programme and common commitment to execute the revolution to achieve its aims of national, class and gender liberation.
Having said this I now turn my attention to the challenges confronting the union. CEPPWAWU is a realisation of COSATU long-standing resolution of one-industry-one-union. After facing serious birth pangs following the merger between CWIU and PPWAWU the union has survived to hold its 3rd congress. For this we congratulate the leadership and members of the union for your tenacity and commitment under difficult circumstances.
CEPPWAWU has survived two splits in the past that saw two rival unions emerging to contest the union. You have also survived some of the corporate restructuring that rocked the petro-chemical and paper sector. SASOL, the former state enterprise, is now a global company which is no longer in the hands of South Africans. Mondi and Sappi have also shifted their primary listing from South Africa and are pursuing interest in other countries. The union therefore lives with constant pressure from management to restructure, which often means retrenchments.
Again it is thanks to the resilience of the members and the leadership that the union has stayed on course. But comrades, I should also be brutally frank; the union confronts serious danger of coming apart. The signs include the fact that the union is losing membership constantly and is being outflanked by Solidarity, UPUSA and other unions, especially at Sasol. In addition, there is no evidence that the union has ideas about how to turn around the industry and support job creation. All of these mean that the task confronting this congress is how to survive and grow the union!
Let me start with the organisational issues confronting this Congress. While job losses provide an explanation for the decline in membership, we must interrogate the other organisational reasons why CEPPWAWU is losing its foothold in some of its stronghold regions and companies. Is it because we have become lax in providing service to our members? Are we paying enough attention to organisational development to ensure a strong, relevant and dynamic organisation?
The second question is whether the union is paying enough attention to the question of industrial policy? You are located in sensitive sectors that provide inputs to the rest of the economy – petro-chemicals and paper. The petrochemical sector in particular is dominated by a virtual monopoly, Sasol, which has a crucial input in downstream chemical and plastics manufacturing. As such, it plays an important role in the economy. The pricing of these products has a knock-effect on a range of sectors from food packaging to the production of household chemicals. Fuel is an input in all sectors of the economy and we know that Sasol has repeated profits due to its near-monopoly position. As such the union must develop a blueprint for the development of these sectors, from both an employment creation perspective as well as industrial development.
Going forward the union must therefore build its internal capacity to improve workers condition on the shop floor and in the industry. COSATU relies on CEPPWAWU ideas around how to turn around the petro-chemical and paper industries for sustainable job creation. We remain committed to work with the union leadership to build a strong organisation focused on the need of the members. We should not betray the best traditions of CEPPWAWU as well run and properly administered union.
Amandla!
Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
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E-Mail: patrick@cosatu.org.za