COSATU Today 2 July 2009
Patrick Craven
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Published by the Congress of South African Trade Unions
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COSATU’s Spokesperson is: Patrick Craven
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- COSATU Today -
Our side of the story
Thursday 2 July 2009
Contents
1.1 Passing on of Comrade Obadia “OG” Mathebula
1.2 POPCRU mourns yet another untimely departure of its leader
1.3 Untimely death of Cde O.G. Mathebula
1.4 Reinstate sacked doctors – says COSATU
2.1 COSATU backs textile tariff increases
2.2 Continued fiasco of food price-fixing scandals
2.3 YCLSA welcomes government’s commitments to free education for the poor!
2.4 Address to COSATU Education and Skills Conference
3.1 COSATU against break up of SACU
3.2 COSATU condemns coup in Honduras
1 Workers’ news
1.1 Passing on of Comrade Obadia “OG” Mathebula
Dan Sebabi, COSATU Limpopo Provincial Secretary, 1 July 2009
COSATU in Limpopo is saddened by the passing on of its PEC member and also the Provincial Secretary of POPCRU, a COSATU Affiliate, Cde Obadia “OG” Mathebula. Cde OG Mathebula, who died tragically in a road accident on 28 June 2009, Sunday night, will be remembered for his sterling contributions to the struggle of the working class and the poor in the province and nationally.
The Federation has lost a unionist, an educator, organiser and a revolutionary. He was a principled, committed and dedicated cadre.
We would like to send our condolences to his family, the POPCRU POBs and all comrades. In his memory, we vow to do everything in our power to ensure his legacy of fighting the struggles of the working class and the poor lives on and continue to inspire the next coming generation.
Arrangements of the funeral service are as follows:
Date : 04 July 2009
Time : 07h00
Venue : Acornhoek, Mpumalanga
We are calling on the workers and members to attend in their numbers to celebrate the life and times of Cde Obadia Mathebula who dedicated all his life to the movement.
For more information please contact:
Dan Sebabi - Provincial Secretary
Tel : 015 291 2981/3
Cell : 082 455 2648 / 082 779 2421
Fax : 015 291 3232
Khehla Masemola – POCPRU Provincial Chairperson
Cell : 082 398 4529
1.2 POPCRU mourns yet another untimely departure of its leader
Benzi Ka-Soko, POPCRU National Spokesperson, 1 July 2009
POPCRU sadly announces yet another untimely departure of its leader in Cde OG Mathebula, Limpopo Provincial Secretary who was knocked down by an on-coming vehicle. We are really shocked to learn of the death of Cde OG Mathebula, one of our rising revolutionary leaders in Limpopo. We should mention the fact that POPCRU has lost a gallant firebrand whose leadership capabilities have made the province to be a force to be reckoned with.
We join hundreds and thousands of our members in sending our heartfelt revolutionary condolences to the Mathebula family. Cde Mathebula was one of the highly gifted leaders within the structures of the union and as a Provincial Secretary; he formed a pivotal part of the NEC and CEC, two critical constitutional components of POPCRU. May his soul rest in peace.
1.3 Untimely death of Cde O.G. Mathebula
Fidel Mlombo, COSATU Mpumalanga Provincial Secretary, 2 July 2009
COSATU in Mpumalanga also mourns untimely death of Cde O.G. Mathebula. He has served COSATU Mpumalanga as the Chairperson of the Bushbuckridge COSATU local with dignity, commitment, dedication and sacrifice. At the time of his death he was the Provincial Secretary of POPCRU in Limpopo.
During his term of leadership as the Bushbuckridge COSATU local Chairperson, that local was amongst the best managed COSATU local in the province. As a result the Bushbuckridge local hosted most of the COSATU campaigns.
Our Province, the workers and the entire working class will always remember comrade Mathebula for his dedication, honesty and bravery in confronting working class challenges.
Our structures are already at work mobilizing for a funeral service befitting the contribution and sacrifice that comrade O.G. made during his life time.
May his Revolutionary soul Rest in Eternal Peace
1.4 Reinstate sacked doctors – says COSATU
Patrick Craven, COSATU National Spokesperson, 2 July 2009
COSATU has called for the immediate reinstatement of all the doctors who have been dismissed for taking part in the recent unprotected strike action.
The unions are currently in the process of reporting back to their members on the draft agreement reached in the Public Health and Social Development Sectoral Bargaining Council, and the SA Medical Association is recommending acceptance.
It has become clear however that the main stumbling block is now the dismissals of doctors. COSATU accepts that their strike was illegal, and supports the view that essential service workers should find other methods of resolving disputes, through negotiation, conciliation and arbitration, as allowed for under the Labour Relations Act. We concede that the strike has hurt the public.
Nevertheless we appeal to the Minister of Health and Provincial MECs for Health to reverse the dismissals, so that we have only one issue on the table – the draft agreement on OSD salary increases, and not the dismissals.
The federation feels the doctors’ understandable anger and frustration at the government’s failure to implement the terms of the 2007 public sector salary agreement on OSD. This is not a normal salary dispute but one created by government which failed to deliver on its promises and is therefore largely responsible for the situation.
The federation has offered to mediate with the Minister of Health and the provincial MECs and will be pursuing the matter throughout the day. The National Office Bearers will be ready to fly to KZN today to try to resolve the issue in that province.
2 South Africa
2.1 COSATU backs textile tariff increases
Patrick Craven, COSATU National Spokesperson, 2 July 2009
COSATU has welcomed the increases in import tariffs on clothing from 40% to 45% on 35 lines of garments. The purpose of these tariffs is to protect the local market against cheap imports that might destroy local industries and jobs.
The G20 Forums in November 2008 and April 2009 urge countries to avoid protectionism, through the use of import quotas and tariffs, and/or local procurement strategies to protect domestic markets.
But despite these calls to avoid protectionism, protectionist measures by the rich have been increasing. For instance, rich countries continue to subsidise their farmers to the detriment of those in poor countries. This was recognised by President Zuma in his speech to the World Economic Forum in Africa when he said that “protectionist policies by the haves will deepen Africa's woes”.
Farmers’ subsidies in wealthy countries have led to disinvestment in agriculture, loss of jobs, migration to cities with resultant pressure on resources and they have destroyed farmers’ and rural people’s livelihoods.
For the past three years SA has been importing subsidised dairy products from the US with detrimental effects on the domestic dairy industry and jobs.
For more than 40 years rich countries have used the Multi-fibre Agreement to protect their clothing and textile industries to the detriment of poor countries industries. The MFA was terminated in 2005 but these countries continue to use tariff peaks to discourage clothing and textile imports from poor countries.
COSATU believes that SA like any other country is within its rights to increase applied tariffs to their bound or maximum levels and the increases are WTO-consistent. Protectionism is a lawful trade policy measure to the extent that it seeks to protect infant or small developing industries against cheap imports which might destroy jobs within WTO rules. So too are local procurement campaigns like Proudly South African, which seek to maximise local procurement of goods and services
SA is not banning imports but is trying to ensure that global trade benefits are spread equally among participating nations and not only to benefit exporting, mostly rich, countries.
The Nedlac Framework Agreement provides that SA must use trade measures to protect its industries and jobs. Whilst rich countries have used the financial muscle to bail out their industries, poor countries should not be prevented from using trade measures to do the same.
Polokwane resolved that all economic policies should be based on industrial policy and that decent work should remain at the centre of all economic policies.
COSATU urges government to use tariff and local procurement policies and other measures in this period of recession to protect existing jobs, key labour intensive industries and industrial capacity, as envisaged by Polokwane and the Nedlac Framework Agreement.
These tariff increases will have a long-term effect of strengthening domestic capacity, improving local production and creating more decent jobs.
2.2 Continued
fiasco of food price-fixing scandals
Katishi Masemola, Labour Caucus Coordinator, 1 July 2009
FAWU
has welcomed the continued and expanded investigation by the competition
commission into food price-fixing beyond just manufacturing to include the food
retailing stage of the value chain.
FAWU has always believed that anti-competitive conduct, such as price-fixing
and excessive pricing, is behind skyrocketing food prices. FAWU feels
vindicated by this investigation.
We call on all the four retail companies to fully co-operate with the
authorities and fully disclose all required information relating to the
subject-matter.
2.3 YCLSA welcomes government’s commitments to free education for the poor!
Castro Ngobese, YCLSA National Spokesperson, 1 July 2009
The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] has noted and welcomed the Budget Speech tabled by the Minister of Higher Education & Training and SACP General Secretary Cde Blade Nzimande. The YCLSA is excited by Cde Nzimande’s commitment in broadening access to higher education for the poor students in sync with the ANC Alliance elections manifesto and the Freedom Charter.
We are excited that there will be a major focus and improvement of infrastructure in the former historically disadvantaged institutions of higher learning. Over the past 15 years of higher education transformation, institutions of higher learning have been used to maintain and reproduce the racial, class and gender apartheid legacy inequalities.
The Budget Speech as tabled by Cde Nzimande is a major departure from this apartheid inclined and neo-liberal approach to higher education transformation towards achieving people’s education as envisaged in the Freedom Charter.
The YCLSA is also excited by the following commitments made by the Minister of Higher Education & Training Cde Nzimande;
· The allocation of R2,144 Billion to the National Students Financial Aid Scheme;
· The establishment of a coherent college sector and which includes 50 Further Education Training Colleges;
· The increase of student enrolment in Further Education and Training colleges to at least 1 million by 2015;
· The allocation of R1, 462 Billion for improving teaching, learning and residence infrastructure and academic efficiency.
The YCLSA believes that these commitments make a firm and solid foundation for the attainment of people’s education and achieving the noble goals of the struggle of the martyrs of June 16.
As the YCLSA we will engage the Minister of Higher Education Cde Nzimande to solicit his views on the expansion of higher education in the country. Therefore the establishment of Universities and Colleges is very key and critical in our country. The out-gone Minister of Education Naledi Pandor had earlier warned government that by 2010 South Africa will not have the capacity to absorb the growing influx of students.
2.4 Address to COSATU Education and
Skills Conference
Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training, 2 July 2009
It is a profound honour for me to address this milestone conference and to have the opportunity to engage with you on the crucial issue of skills development in our country.
At the outset, I want to commend our revolutionary trade union federation, COSATU, on taking the initiative to convene this summit and elevating the important issue of skills development on its agenda.
It is a welcome development that there will now be over-arching co-ordination and attention from the federation on the issue of education, training and skills development, rather than these matters being dealt with only by the affiliate unions – important as this may be. It is commendable that COSATU is able to examine its own policies and strategies in this area with the determination to tackle our skills crisis head-on.
It is also very necessary that we produce a full appraisal of our current education, training and skills programme and needs, identify weaknesses and failings, and make recommendations on how these can be remedied. In short, we need a skills revolution.
As the biggest and most powerful trade union federation in the country, COSATU is a critical stakeholder in the national dialogue on matters of the economy and in particular, issues related to the empowerment and skilling of our workforce. I am therefore confident that this conference will provide a comprehensive and valuable assessment of the challenges and responses needed to transform the skills training system.
As the line-function representative responsible for government’s skills development and training programme, it is especially significant and helpful for me to have my comrades in COSATU in partnership to overcome the immense challenges we face as a nation on these issues.
Comrades, as you are aware, the Department of Education was split into two following our momentous election victory in April. The rationale behind this bold move to create dedicated ministries of Basic Education and Higher Education and Training was to ensure that these two critical segments of our education system receive greater attention and dedicated focus from government.
It was also in recognition of the developmental challenges of our country that the Department of Higher Education and Training was conceptualised to focus on the provision of diverse and relevant post-school educational and training opportunities for youth and adults, and cater for the social, cultural and economic needs of South Africa.
Our strategic objective in the department is to accelerate the transformation of the higher education and training landscape in line with our overall developmental agenda. The setting up of such an education and training system was envisaged in 1994 when the ANC government first took power, but had never been taken to this level.
The agenda we have now set out includes:
· Improving access and success in higher education, with a particular focus on black, women and poor students
· A co-coordinated skills development strategy, informed by an overarching industrial strategy, based on clear sectoral industrial strategies, placing particular emphasis on scarce skills. This will require re-focusing and possibly restructuring of the SETAs to be guided by this overarching objective, rather than the other way round
· Improving quality and capacity of the FET Colleges (rename Vocational and Career Colleges), with a particular focus on artisans and other scarce skills, and as primary delivery centres for Adult Education and Training
· Rebuilding a vibrant, expanded and quality college sector to improve post-schooling options and access to skills for youth. A complicated question here relates to the resolution of re-opening teacher training colleges? What does this mean? Does it mean colleges separate from universities, or expanding delivery sites of university schools of education in the form of dedicated teacher colleges?
Comrades, a number of cross-cutting issues and perspectives that need must be factored into the above, include the following:
· At the heart of all this is also the implementation of the ANC Manifesto, which essentially means that no deserving poor student must be excluded from access to higher education
· Rural higher education and skills for rural development
· The nature of a developmental state that seeks to address the class, national and gender contradictions in their interrelationship
· How do we integrate the key streams of the Department of Higher Education and Training without collapsing the particular contribution of each into the others?
· How do we creatively use funds in our hands for example the National Skills Fund to advance these objectives, and what additional resources are needed in line with the prioritization of education in government’s policies?
· Clearly the success of implementing our mandate in higher education and training rests in improving the quality and outputs from the school system. But at the same time we cannot wait for this and what can be done with what we have now to improve access and success in higher education and training
Earlier this week during the Education Budget vote in parliament, I explained some of the findings of a ministerial report on Post-compulsory and Post-school Provision, which reflects a grim picture of our society. According to the report, 2.8million of the 6.8million 18 to 24 year olds in South Africa are neither in employment, education institutions or workplace training. This figure of 41% of all our youth is attributable to, amongst other things, very limited access into post-school education and training opportunities, poor resources, the lack of financing and the restricted availability of jobs.
As the leading voice of the organised working class, COSATU has a first-hand and deep understanding of our profound challenges regarding unemployment and the difficulties facing unskilled workers. Millions of our people experience daily hardships, bearing the brunt of the tough economic climate.
We therefore require a fundamental rethink of our skills development strategy as well as the respective roles of, and relationships between, Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges, Universities of Technology, other universities, the National Skills Fund and the Sector Education and Training Authorities.
This fundamental rethink requires that we have to think out of our boxes if we are to development an overarching, highly integrated and articulated system of higher education and training, but without at the same time mechanically collapsing into each other the distinctive roles, features, and contribution of each of the components of such a system (colleges/universities of technology/other universities/SETAs).
But it is clear that these pillars of our higher education and training system can also not operate as silos. In this regard I am especially concerned about the continuing “ivory tower” attitude of many universities, reluctant to develop appropriate systems of articulation with FETs and other schooling qualifications, for example the National Vocational Certificate.
Articulation can also not be left to individual choices of universities, to cherry-pick on college programmes. It is clear to me that an articulated system and standards needs to be centrally driven.
I know that in raising this matter an accusation of wanting to lower standards may be raised. Therefore we need to look at accreditation and articulation in an all-rounded fashion, including matric exit standards, FET/College standards as well as university requirement. In all this, we need to be guided by the need to create a high quality higher education and training system that is responsive to our skills development needs.
Comrades, as I mentioned earlier, a refocusing and restructuring of the SETA landscape is on the cards ahead of the proposed re-establishment in April next year. In the meantime, the SETAs and all associated institutions and legislation will relocate from the Department of Labour to the Department of Higher Education and Training.
While it is wrong to paint all the SETAs with one brush, there is clearly unevenness in their performance. There is definitely a need for an intensive assessment of the SETAs to ensure greater accountability, improved employment of resources, better management of funds and streamlining and alignment of their operations in order that they fulfil their role as a central cog of our skills training and job creation machinery. I will shortly be engaging the SETAs to examine these issues and enhance their capacity to meet the skills needs of South Africa.
There are some important questions we need to examine about the SETAs:
1. Why were they named sector EDUCATION and training authorities, if their primary focus is biased more towards workplace training to the total exclusion of formal skills training in for instance the FETs, universities of technology and other types of universities?
2. Where does training start and where does it end? Isn’t there a continuum between formal (academic) skills training to internships/learnerships to ongoing workplace training to be duly undertaken by employers in any case?
3. What is workplace training and what forms of workplace training take place: internships/learnerships from new graduates from FETs and universities? Shouldn’t the SETAs also facilitate the placement and effective training of these graduates?
4. Do SETAs and the NSF not have a role to play in relation to formal skills training in FETs/colleges/universities? This seems to be happening but outside of a strategic and programmatic framework. What should be the appropriate balance between NSF and SETA funds earmarked for formal skills training in colleges and universities on the one hand, and workplace training on the other? Would this balance not be determined by the needs in each sector? Is it not possible that in one sector there might be a need for more funding and support to formal training in colleges and universities as a result of lack of throughput of those basic qualifications from the formal education system; whilst in other instances the need maybe greater in terms of creating opportunities for placement of interns/learners; and yet in others a more focused opportunities for (further and ongoing) workplace training?
In April next year, National Skills Strategy Number Two is coming to an end, coinciding with the renewal of the mandate of the SETAs. We hope that this conference would help to guide us towards NSDF Three and the kinds of transformation needed in the renewal of the mandate of the SETAs.
In light of these questions and challenges, there seems to be a need for deeper engagement to assess our overall skills needs in the economy, as well as in each economic sector, and the appropriate funding model for our skills training system. The process of developing a national skills development strategy needs to be informed by an overarching industrial strategy.
It is also however important that the existence of the SETAs should not be a substitute to ongoing workplace training. We are concerned that some employers simply regard their contribution to the SETAs as the fulfilment of their obligations for ongoing workplace training. The SETAs should be seen as just one of the tools for ongoing workplace training.
It is also important for the federation to oversee effective deployment of worker representatives onto the boards of the SETAs so that such that this does not become co-option and access to benefits that go with being members of the boards.
This conference is therefore an important facet in kick-starting this engagement. I am committed to continuing dialogue between government and stakeholders, particularly the labour movement.
Comrades, it is clear that creating an integrated higher education and training system is no easy feat. However through my department, I will strive to have within the first half of our term in government, to have the fundamentals in place to begin to deal with our vast skills backlog, and education training challenges. By the end of the term of this government we should have built a very strong foundation for such, and also be able to realize some possible short term deliverables for the sake of our youth, our workers, the unemployed and the poor of our country.
I thank you.
3 International
3.1 COSATU against break up of SACU
Patrick Craven, COSATU National Spokesperson, 2 July 2009
COSATU regrets the signing of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU) and Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Swaziland, who are members of both the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).
COSATU condemns these countries for sacrificing regional integration and the future of African integration in return for short-term benefits by increasing their exports to the EU.
Subsequent to the signing off on the EPAs there has been media speculation about the possibility of SACU being dissolved, because of South Africa’s possible withdrawal. This may be premature and unfortunate, as SACU is an established regional institution despite weaknesses and disagreements among its member states.
It will be celebrating 100 years in 2010 making it the oldest customs union in the world; because of this experience it should be left intact and provides an opportunity to unify and take SACU to higher levels.
The federation however shares the concern expressed by Trade and Industry Minister, Rob Davies, that this agreement could allow cheap European imports to enter South Africa through these countries. This might make it necessary for SA to put up border controls and demand rules of origin certificates in order to prevent this from happening. This would seriously undermine the basis of SACU. For that reason we welcome the EU’s commitment to review the rules of origin provisions of the EPA.
The federation condemns the EU for disregarding regional integration objectives within SADC, to the detriment of jobs and industries in these countries. The EPA only serves to guarantee market access for the EU multinational companies to exploit raw materials in SADC, to open up, deregulate and privatise the services markets and gain market access to government procurement within SADC countries.
That is why COSATU supports the SA, Angolan and Namibian governments for standing firm against the bullying arm twisting tactics of the EU.
COSATU appreciates that countries within SADC are at different levels of development and their trade interests would often conflict. That makes it even more imperative that the SA government, through consultations and negotiations, unite SACU and SADC in order to ensure that regional economies are not destroyed by the economic crisis.
Notwithstanding the differences in the levels of development it is also imperative that countries should not overly rely on national sovereignty issues to block regional integration efforts. Consequently the dispute on EPAs, if not properly handled, might complicate and prolong regional integration efforts within SACU and SADC.
COSATU urges SA, Angolan and Namibian governments to continue to negotiate their concerns on the EPA within SACU and SADC and with the EU to align tariffs under the SA’s Trade Agreement with the EU (TDCA) with tariffs under the EU-SADC EPA and to remove objectionable issues from the EPA agreement.
COSATU demands that:
- Resolution of outstanding matters within SACU, such as the harmonisation of agricultural, industrial and trade policies and establishment of institutions, e.g. the Tariff Board, should be accelerated,
- Amendment of the revenue sharing formula that determines a share of each member from the common revenue pool should, through consultations and consensus, be expedited to provide among others that money from the common revenue pool should only be used for developmental purposes such as building of road and clinics. SACU should avoid a situation where countries use money from the common revenue pool to engage in extravagant activities such as the purchase of luxurious cars by the Swazi government for the King’s birthday.
- SACU should be used as a springboard to establish the new SADC Customs Union to expedite and enhance regional integration in this period of economic crisis and recession. Countries should only join the CU when they comply with a set of requirements including a common external tariff.
- Civil society, including Labour, within SADC countries should be included in the negotiations of a full EPA.
· The EU must stop its bullying tactics to coerce the SACU/SADC countries to conclude an agreement which is WTO plus in that it contains issues that are subject to a deadlock at WTO such as trade and investment and services.
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3.2 COSATU condemns coup in Honduras
Patrick Craven, COSATU National Spokesperson, 2 July 2009
COSATU has called on all democrats, workers and revolutionaries to condemn the coup in Honduras which has overthrown leftist President, Manuel Zelaya.
He was abducted from his official residence by the Honduran army and forcibly taken to Costa Rica on Sunday morning. It followed a growing controversy over a vote over term limits between the President and General Romeo Vasquez, who is reportedly in charge of the armed forces that abducted the President.
According to the US-based Institute for Southern Studies (ISS), “At least two leaders of the coup launched in Honduras on June 28 were apparently trained at a controversial Department of Defence school based at Fort Benning, Georgia, infamous for producing graduates linked to torture, death squads and other human rights abuses.”
Also at stake is the life of Foreign Minister, Patricia Rodas, whose whereabouts are unknown. She was with the ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua in Honduras when 15 soldiers wearing ski masks broke into their meeting place. The soldiers pushed and beat then, stole their cell phones and took them to an air base.
These cruel acts are reminiscent of past dictators in Latin America, such as Pinochet, who were in the active service of US imperialism. These brutal dictatorships were used against to attack and kill communists and other revolutionary activists who were defending the people’s natural resources and democratic rights.
This is a dastardly act of cowardice against a democratically elected leader of the Honduran people, who have chosen to follow the path of Cuba, Venezuela and other countries that have opted out of the clutches of neo-colonial imperialism supervised by the US.
This coup has lessons for Africa, where we also struggle daily with the reality of underdevelopment, neo-colonial plunder of our natural resources and destabilization through proxy forces killing our people. We call on the global trade union movement to condemn this act, and defend democracy and the right of the Honduran people to choose their own leaders freely.
