COSATU end-of-year statement
Patrick Craven
COSATU
end-of-year statement
For COSATU the year 2009 can be summed up by the famous opening lines of A
Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times”. The worst of times were represented by the devastating economic
crisis, which continued its rampage throughout the world and hit South African
workers very hard.
When we predicted at the beginning of the year that a million jobs could be lost in 2009, we were accused of exaggerating and scaremongering.
Tragically our forecast was spot on. And when you take into account that an average of five people depend on the wages brought home by one worker that means that five million South African were plunged into poverty in the course of the year.
Just when unemployment was starting to creep down from the massive levels it reached as a result of the misguided neoliberal polices of the previous government, it has shot up again, from 23.6% of the labour force in the second quarter, to 24.5% in the third quarter of 2009. The more realistic expanded definition of unemployment, which includes those who have given up looking for work, climbed from 32.5% to 34.4% in the same period. This means that a staggering 4.702 million South Africans are now without work, way above the levels in any comparable country.
The crisis has devastated manufacturing industry and has raised the spectre of the complete deindustrialisation of the economy, with no escape from the colonial economic status as a source of raw materials and cheap labour, a danger that will be even more real if the WTO’s current proposals are adopted and if the demands of the developed countries win the day in the current world environment summit in Copenhagen, which will further erode the economies of developing countries.
The crisis has increased the already massive levels of poverty and sparked off angry community service delivery protests in one community after another.
The blatant levels of inequality undoubtedly fuel these protests, as South Africa today is officially the world leader in terms of inequality. Poor families living in shacks with no sanitation or running water can see the mansions of the wealthy, with their gardens and swimming pools just a few kilometres away.
Making the communities even angrier is the continuing evidence of corruption, especially when the culprits are those who are supposed to be representing them as mayors, councillors or public servants.
Batho Pele remains a distant dream for millions of the poor who depend on the state for the necessities of life, yet still find hopelessly under-resourced and under-staffed public services. Despite the dedicated work of the majority of public servants, a minority of lazy, corrupt or rude staff can lead to the absolute opposite of ‘service’. COSATU intends to invite government to join a new campaign to establish a new revolutionary culture of service to the public among all public servants.
Overshadowing all these desperate problems is the devastating HIV/Aids pandemic, which continues to sweep through the country, claiming thousands of lives, with new infections at 23 times the global average. Thank goodness we now have a President, a Minister and a government that fully appreciate the seriousness of the catastrophe, and we shall be pulling out all the stops to take forward the government campaign to reduce the rate of infections by 50% and get ARV treatment to 80% of those who need it.
These are the worst of times.
On the other hand the best of times are represented by the huge advances we have made on the political front, which make us far better placed to confront and defeat these terrible problems than ever before.
The highlights of the year were the ANC’s fourth election victory on 22 April and the COSATU 10th National Congress on 21-24 September. But even earlier, COSATU was congratulating then President Kgalema Motlanthe for his State of the Nation speech on 6 February 2009, which “committed the country to policies which can take us through the looming economic crisis and keep us on course for the revolutionary transformation of South Africa and the creation of a better life for all”. The Federation noted the absence of any denialism about the problems of poverty and inequality.
COSATU also warmly welcomed the framework plan, agreed by government, business, labour and community organisations at the Joint Presidential Working Group in February, as South Africa’s response to the international economic crisis, a unique example of social partners coming together jointly to produce a strategy to deal with the impact of the crisis and protect jobs and livelihoods.
We still are having to fight hard to see this ambitious plan fully implemented, but are encouraged by repeated assurances from the ANC and government that it is the cornerstone of their economic strategies.
Then came the historic election victory in April. COSATU nailed its colours firmly to the mast, calling on all workers to vote ANC for a better life for all and to defend their interests as workers. In particular we backed the ANC’s priorities:
1. More jobs, decent work and sustainable livelihoods
2. Food security, rural development and land reform
3. Free health care for all through progressive introduction of the National Health Insurance
4. Opening the doors of learning and culture for all, through progressive steps to introduce free and compulsory education for all our children
5. Intensifying the fight against crime and corruption.
6. Cohesive and sustainable communities and protection of the poor and vulnerable.
Our members played a decisive part in overcoming the challenge from both traditional opponents and the new gang of ANC dissidents who came together to defend the interests of the rich, and hoped to split the support for the ANC. They were crushed, gaining their few votes mainly from other discredited opposition parties and barely denting the ANC’s two-thirds majority.
We succeeded in defending our revolutionary movement, the ANC, the tripartite Alliance and the congress movement as a whole. We defended the gains workers made in the 52nd national conference of the ANC held in Polokwane in December 2007.
The commitment the ANC has made through its progressive elections manifesto invigorated a new spirit of hope and determination in all of us workers. We believed that the ANC, under its new leadership elected in the Polokwane conference, would ensure that these commitments were taken forward, and we will mobilise to see that this happens.
That confidence was quickly proved to have been justified by the choice of new ministers, and both President Zuma’s State of the Nation Speech and the first budget from Pravin Gordhan, which confirmed their commitment to the creation of a new growth path, a developmental state and job-creation as top priority.
COSATU particularly applauded the amount of consultation around the cabinet appointments, which was far greater than with previous governments. Overall we now have a very well balanced government, which reflects the spirit and themes of Polokwane.
The elections and our close relationship with the new government, the deployment of COSATU and SACP cadres to head key ministries, demonstrated that the Alliance is enjoying a spell of unity, cohesion and a high degrees of common purpose. It is a time of hope and possibilities. The challenge is how we will keep this unity strong in the light of the challenges ahead. We must keep the ANC united, vibrant and strong.
This remains our firm belief as demonstrated by our 10th National Congress in September, which declared: “The historic ANC 52nd Conference has restored our hope that the ANC and the Alliance will work together to achieve common goals. The installation of the new government, led by comrade Jacob Zuma provides a new opportunity to redefine and strengthen the state, and to refashion state-society relations.
“In particular, we welcome the willingness and openness of the new government, which we aim to use to place workers’ concerns on the table. There is a breath of fresh air within the Alliance, opening the space for a democratic and mature discussion. We commit ourselves to grasp this historic opportunity to maximise workers’ gains and better the life of working class communities.”
This was further confirmed by the Alliance Summit in November. Despite a leak to the media of false reports that there were serious splits, the reality was that, despite robust debates, the Alliance partners emerged stronger and more united than ever, with its central role in policy development reaffirmed.
The more recent outbreak of personalised attacks has not changed this reality. As we said this week, “The Alliance is not in crisis. It is intact and as necessary as ever, as confirmed by Conference and Congress resolutions of all the Alliance partners and declarations of successive Alliance Summits. We are totally united around all the policies of the ANC election manifesto and are working tirelessly to see those policies implemented.”
We do however deeply regret the recent, unfortunately personalised, spats between members of the ANCYL, the YCL and the SACP. We restate our opposition to the use of personal insults, mudslinging and challenges to the bona-fides of those who hold difference views on policy questions, which, if not stopped, can lead to the closure of the space for genuine political debate, which is the life-blood of the Alliance.
Having said this, COSATU wishes to unequivocally condemn the foreign cultures fostered in the democratic movement during the recent acrimonious debate. No matter how angry comrades can be against one other, there are limits. COSATU encourages and thrives on honest, robust, public policy debates but we condemn the use of insults and questioning of each other’s bona fides. Downright insults actually close down the public space for rational debates and, by its nature, trading of insults is reactionary and undemocratic.
We are also opposed to all forms of narrow chauvinism. Even in the context of African culture, it is wrong to be disrespectful to elders and disdainful to leadership.
We welcome the statement of the ANC President delivered in the SACP second National Congress when addressing this matter and urge that stern action be taken against those that defy him. Frankly if this is not nipped in the bud, it will create an environment of ‘the untouchables’ and demagogy.
COSATU will call for an urgent meeting of the Alliance Political Centre, which is constituted by the Alliance National Office Bearers, to discuss this matter soon.
Since the 2007 52nd ANC national conference COSATU has made its first goal defending the working class gains achieved in Polokwane. When we were fighting to defeat the 1996 class project we recognised that there was no unifying ideology among those who voted for change in Polokwane, but that it was a broad coalition of forces united only by opposition to the previous leadership, and its bureaucratic, dictatorial methods.
It is now evident that the working class has a formidable task of defending the gains of Polokwane and making sure that the government and the revolutionary movement are not derailed by a minority in the leadership, who are small in number but with powerful friends in the boardrooms of big business, who want to return to the past.
They are using rooi gevaar and anti-COSATU and anti-Communist rhetoric, and allegations of an imminent communist takeover of the ANC. They thrive on rumour and scandal-mongering, with all manner of claims that communists are gunning for certain positions in 2012. This tendency will stop at nothing, including the use of the race card and tribalism.
They have problematically opened a leadership debate three years ahead of the conference. They do not care what this will cause in terms of the unity and cohesion of the ANC and the Alliance. They are campaigning to end a long culture of dual membership and are accusing certain members and leaders of so-called “double parking between ANC and the SACP”, to try and discredit COSATU and the SACP - all of which is eagerly sensationalised by the media.
These elements accuse the President of allowing too much ground to the communists and COSATU and leak reports to the media that there may be challenges to leading office-bearers, notable Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe, in 2012. They wrongly accuse the Alliance partners of wanting to impose socialism on the ANC.
All this is done by this small clique who claim they are defending the ANC from its own sons and daughters but who happen to have a COSATU and SACP membership. If there is any one to be accused of hijacking the ANC it will be the new tendency that has little interest in taking forward the ANC election manifesto but who want positions for personal accumulation and their agenda of crass materialism.
In the process they want the revolution to devour its own sons and daughters, which includes some of the finest revolutionaries. COSATU still has to see any example anywhere in the world where a pro-worker and pro-poor revolution was defended by a capitalist class.
This tendency, though it can never openly admit it of course, seeks to defend the culture of crass materialism, self-enrichment and corruption. But they do not represent the views of the broader ANC membership and leaders, the vast majority of who want an end to the politics of patronage, backstabbing and careerism.
That is why COSATU is stepping up a campaign against corruption, the use of patronage, use of state institutions for the agenda of personal accumulation and all such practises that destroy the moral fibre of our society.
COSATU will never compromise on its determination to cleanse society, and in particular in our own ranks, of corruption and the culture of self-enrichment. We are determined to re-establish the revolutionary traditions of service to the people and the liberation struggle.
The federation sends seasonal greetings to all workers around the world, especially those facing oppression and attacks on their rights. We are particularly proud of those members who will be part of the March in Gaza on New Year’s Eve to protest against the Israeli Government’s brutal suppression of the people of Palestine.
COSATU wishes all its members and all South Africans a very happy holiday season, urges everyone to drive carefully, and return refreshed and invigorated to face the challenges of the momentous year 2010. Finally we send our best wishes to Bafana Bafana for success in our greatest-ever sporting spectacular, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and pledge our members’ total support.
Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets
Braamfontein, 2017
P.O. Box 1019
Johannesburg, 2000
SOUTH AFRICA
Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24
Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940/ 086 603 9667
Cell: 0828217456
E-Mail: pat...@cosatu.org.za