COSATU Media Monitor, 22 May 2012

Cosatu in the province said yesterday that it had lost a “dedicated fighter” for workers’ rights in Tselane Dipadi.

Dipadi, who was provincial treasurer for the union federation, died on Saturday night in a car accident. She was on her way to Bloemfontein with other colleagues when accident happened ,near Kroonstad.

They were on their way from a South African Clothes and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) meeting in Johannesburg.

Cosatu provincial secretary Sam Mashinini said a Sactwu organiser from Thaba Nchu also died in the accident.

“This is a sad moment for Cosatu. The two had dedicated their lives to serving the workers in this province. They have left a huge gap and will be solely missed in the union movement,” said Mashinini.

Dipadi became treasurer in 2006 after spending many years as a shopsteward in Sactwu. Mashinini described her as a “firm” person.

He said: “She was soft spoken but also firm at the same time. When she set out to do something she would do it without second thoughts and she put workers’ rights upfront in whatever she did.

We will forever be indebted to her for her selfless contribution to the struggle of the workers.”

The Young Communist League in the province said it would miss Dipadi’s “energy” in the federation.

Cosatu, SACP, ANC and the people of the Free State have been robbed of a gender activist and a people’s servant with a working class background. Indeed, we are poorer without her,” said YCL provincial spokesperson Fezile Sonkwane.

1.2 Vavi's position shaky as lobbying heats up

Moipone Malefane & Olebogeng Molatlhwa, Sunday World, 21 May 2012

Though Zwelinzima Vavi has been accused of campaigning against National Union of Mineworkers general secretary Frans Baleni, he (Baleni), however, appears to remain key in arguing for the retention of Vavi as Cosatu's boss.

Sunday World understands there are tensions in Cosatu as some leaders are lobbying Baleni or Nehawu general secretary Fikile Majola to run against Vavi at the federation's national congress later this year.

Both leaders are understood not to have shown interest as they both believe their candidacy will weaken and divide Cosatu.

Baleni is himself facing a challenge from the union's current deputy general secretary Oupa Komane when the NUM holds elections this week.

The federation's leadership squabbles are further complicated by the fact that some argue that Majola and Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini are from the same union - Nehawu - which would tilt the balance of forces in Nehawu's favour should the pair serve in Cosatu's leadership positions at the same time.

Cosatu is to hold its national congress in September while the NUM congress starts on Wednesday and ends on Sunday at Emperors Palace.

For the first time, Vavi will not address the NUM gathering.

Instead, Dlamini will represent Cosatu and will be joined by President Jacob Zuma, SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande, public works minister Thulas Nxesi and public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba.

The line-up for the NUM gathering is considered to be for leaders aligned to Zuma's bid for re-election as ANC president in December.

There is speculation that Vavi has been sidelined because of his perceived growing hostility to Zuma's presidency.

Meanwhile, the national fiscus could be deprived of billions of rands generated from the country's lucrative mining industry if the NUM has its way. The union intends to push ahead with plans to adopt a resolution calling for mining taxes to be ploughed back almost entirely into the sector, by subsidising education for the children of mine workers and to contribute to rural development.

In its draft resolution document, which Sunday World has seen, the union calls on members to publicly support the ANC's research on more state involvement in mining.

The NUM's head of parliamentary office, Madoda Sambatha said while the union supported the findings contained in the ruling party's research document, it would advance its own submissions, which it will "grapple with at the ANC's policy conference in June".

"One cannot make the assumption that once you nationalise the mines the issue of community development will be addressed. The (ANC's) report should have been emphatic in saying that taxes generated from mining should be ploughed back into the industry," he said.

Sambatha seemed to suggest that mining taxes should not go towards the national fiscus, but rather that taxes be retained in the sector.

He argues that not retaining taxes within the mining industry negatively affected the sector in the long run.

"To think that these taxes go to the national fiscus is not true. They are distributed to all other government priorities. These taxes should be used to offer free education to children of miners and others as well as towards rural development so that there are no ghost towns once mining activity has come to an end," he said.

1.3 S.Africa municipal workers warn of strikes over pay

Stella Mapenzauswa, Reuters, 21 May 2012

South Africa's municipal workers kicked off annual wage negotiations on Monday with a demand for increases nearly three times the inflation rate, warning of a repeat of strikes that have crippled public services in recent years.

In a statement, the South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU) said it wanted an annual increase of 15 percent for its members, compared with inflation of 6 percent and against a government offer of 4 percent.

"Their (the government's) response is tantamount to declaring war on municipal workers," SAMWU, an affiliate of the powerful COSATU labour federation, said. It threatened industrial action as the "only way for municipal workers to fight for a living wage".

SAMWU claims more than 200,000 members, most of them water, sanitation and refuse workers.

In its budget in February, the Treasury allowed for a 5 percent wage increase for public servants, adding that a huge state salary bill was crowding out investment in infrastructure and other key productive sectors.

Mining firms in one of the world's biggest producers of gold and platinum were last year forced to award above-inflation pay increases for two years to end strikes in the sector.

Analysts say union demands for steep pay rises have put a strain on companies' operating costs, undermining the national drive to slash high unemployment, which currently just above 25 percent of the labour force.

Traditionally, wage negotiations last several weeks in the mid-year wage bargaining session known as "strike season" with unions often downing tools to back their demands, disrupting mine production and also hitting services in state hospitals and schools.

1.4 Warders ‘owed R1.2bn’

Lee Rondganger, Daily News, 22 May 2012

A bungled shift system and a government cash crunch has led to possibly as much as R1 billion being owed to South Africa’s prison warders, some of whom were being forced to take bribes from inmates to survive, two unions have alleged.

The Department of Correctional Services had no money to pay its warders, who say they are owed R1.2bn in overtime pay, according to the Public Service Association (PSA) and the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru).

Both unions said they had been negotiating, unsuccessfully, with the department since October last year to have their members paid.

Morale among warders was at an all-time low, they claimed, blaming a new shift system that was not implemented properly as the source of the problem.

“The members are resorting to corruption to earn extra money. We get money faster from the prisoners than we do from the department,” a warder at Westville prison said.

Because warders provide an essential service and cannot strike, the PSA and Popcru said the only option left for them was to take the matter to arbitration.

“The employer has told us that they simply do not have the money to pay,” said Claude Naicker, the PSA’s manager for KwaZulu-Natal. “It is a problem that has been going on for some time and now the guys are really frustrated.

“We took these concerns to the bargaining chamber and the department where we tried to resolve these issues, but the employer categorically said they don’t have money to pay this overtime. That is nonsense because overtime is an issue that was agreed upon some time ago and the department is obliged to pay the overtime.”

Despite repeated attempts, including e-mail, voice mail and SMS messages left since last Thursday, Correctional Services spokeswoman, Nokuthula Zikhali, had not responded to questions by the Daily News at the time of going to press.

The overtime issue stems from the shift system the department implemented last year, when it moved away from a Monday to Friday working week to a seven-day cycle.

Naicker said that under the old system, warders were paid overtime if they worked on a weekend. Under the new system, Saturdays and Sundays are no longer considered overtime. “The department moved to the new shift pattern because they could no longer afford to pay overtime money,” he claimed.

“The department did not implement the shift patterns properly and warders ended up working overtime in the new shift patterns because they were required to fill in for people who were sick. This is where the problems started because, in essence, there is not enough staff to implement the new shift pattern.”

Other issues include warders on certain grades being short-paid on their salaries, he said.

“We told them that we understood the process and asked them to reconcile the two issues and if there is money being owed to the officers, pay them,” Naicker said.

Popcru’s provincial secretary, Kwenza Nxele, said the union was trying to address the issues with the department. “The department does not reject or deny that they owe people money,” he said. “They just don’t have the money. We are hoping that they can find this money in the new financial year.”

Nxele said the issue was contributing to low staff morale.

“It would go without saying that if people are not paid, they will be unhappy.”

A warder at Westville Prison said: “The guys are getting sucked in by the prison gangs who offer to pay them lots of money to bring in drugs and other contraband. Warders who would normally never do this are now doing it because they are not getting their overtime money.”

Corruption at the prison has gone through the roof, the warder said.

1.5 Fresh protests near Implats' Rustenburg mine

Ed Stoddard, Business Day, 22 May 2012

Impala Platinum (Implats) mine workers have downed tools in protest over the arrest of their colleagues and leaders implicated in last week's clashes between rival unions, an official said on Tuesday.

Implats spokeswoman Alice Lourens said since Monday evening the workers at the mine near Rustenburg "refused to proceed underground when they heard some of their colleagues had been arrested".

Last week police intervened at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company after workers affiliated to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the rival Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) clashed at two different locations on the mine property.

At the time North West police spokesman Brig Thulane Ngubane said several workers belonging to AMCU attacked their NUM colleagues outside a hostel before they left for work.

Two NUM workers ran and hid. Another was shot in the head and collapsed on the road outside the hostel. He was taken to the Impala mine hospital.

"It is alleged that the dispute between the two labour unions' members... is being influenced by the fact that AMCU has now recruited more members since... the Implats strike," he said.

"The AMCU members are allegedly out-numbering those of NUM and they forcefully want NUM members to vacate the... number 14 shaft," Brig Ngubane said.

Implats fired 17200 workers after they refused to return to work in February, despite a court interdict declaring their strike action illegal.

Three people were killed in incidents linked to intimidation and violence involving the dismissed workers, while scores were injured and more than 100 were arrested for public violence.

Implats, the world's second-largest platinum producer, lost 120,000 ounces in production during the last major flare-up at Rustenburg and the spot price was pushed higher as the mine accounts for 15% of global output. SAPA

1.6 Nineteen miners trapped in SA mine

Business Report, 22 May 2012

Nineteen illegal miners were trapped underground in a diamond mine near Kleinzee in the Northern Cape on Tuesday, police said.

“Rescue workers are talking to the trapped miners, but we are not sure of their condition,” Captain Cherelle Ehlers said.

A disused tunnel in the mine collapsed, trapping the men who were digging illegally for diamonds. Eleven managed to escape and alerted police that there were people underground.

“The miners are trapped in tunnels at the Bontekou mine in Kleinzee,” said Ehlers. The mine closed the tunnels in April.

Police and rescue teams from Kommagas, Kleinzee, Port Nolloth, Upington, and Kimberley, as well as rescuers from the De Beers mine and the Nama Khoi disaster management were are at the scene.

It is thought the tunnel collapsed at about 3am on Tuesday. The area that caved in was about six metres deep and led to several tunnels and an underground waiting area.

Three of the 11 who escaped were admitted to a hospital in Springbok.

Ehlers said loose gravel was hindering rescue efforts. - Sapa

1.7 John Gomomo bursary fund

Sowetan, 21 May 2012

Helps deserving people seeking a tertiary qualification in the automotive industry

A fund started by VW SA in conjunction with the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) in memory of late unionist John Gomomo has been a shot in the arm for those keen on the automotive industry.

The John Gomomo bursary fund was launched last year to provide bursaries to deserving people studying or wanting to study full-time towards a tertiary qualification in the automotive industry.

VW SA communications general manager Matt Gennrich said: "Volkswagen has always been, is and will always be a people's company. It is therefore only fitting that one of the icons [Gomomo] that worked for Volkswagen is recognised by having his name remembered through this bursary fund jointly set up with Numsa in his memory".

A former Cosatu president, Gomomo worked at VW in Uitenhage.

He later became an ANC member of parliament until his death in 2008.

1.8 VW drives jobs with bursaries

Sithandiwe Velaphi, The New Age, 21 May 2012

Volkswagen SA said the John Gomomo Bursary Fund, which was launched last year, has helped ease unemployment in the Uitenhage area.

The car manufacturing giant partnered with the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) to launch the fund.

The funding comes from the Work Security Fund, which provides training to retrenched employees and unemployed people. It also provides scholarships and bursaries, as well as adult-based education training.

John Gomomo, in whose memory the fund was named, worked as a machinetool setter at Volkswagen’s factory in Uitenhage. He also served as Cosatu president.

“Volkswagen has always been and will always be a people’s company. It is therefore only fitting that one of the icons who worked for Volkswagen is recognised by having his name remembered through this bursary fund,” said Matt Gennrich, GM of communications at Volkswagen.

“Uitenhage grapples with high numbers of unemployment. As the largest auto-manufacturer in the province, Volkswagen has, as one of its objectives, aimed to be a company with meaning and impact,” said Gennrich.

The fund is open to unemployed individuals studying or wanting to study full time towards a formal tertiary qualification related to the automotive industry.

Ettienne Pike, a third-year logistics student at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, said: “I am very grateful to the fund. I would not have made this far without it.”

1.9 Busa urges youth wage subsidy

TimesLive, 22 May 2012

Business Unity SA (Busa) urged the government to introduce a youth wage subsidy as soon as possible.

"The funds made available by the National Treasury nearly two years ago for a youth wage subsidy should now be constructively deployed to help mitigate youth unemployment," Busa said in a statement.

A youth wage subsidy offered more advantages for youth employment than other short-term job creation initiatives. It had the potential to create over 400,000 jobs, Busa said.

In addition, small and medium-sized businesses, which had the greatest potential for employment creation, would be able to use the facility.

Concerns about potential abuse of the scheme could be addressed with appropriate safeguards, it said.

"A well-crafted scheme of this kind can make a significant contribution towards reducing youth unemployment in South Africa, especially at a time of relatively low economic growth and rising unemployment," said Busa.

1.10 Fedusa says youth-based wage subsidy already exists

Alistair Anderson, Business Day, 22 May 2012

The Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) on Friday called for a training-based wage subsidy, which it said was not necessarily the currently planned youth subsidy, to serve as a catalyst for job creation in SA.

This came after the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) clashed violently with opposition political party Democratic Alliance members, who last week marched in favour of a youth wage subsidy.

Fedusa was not sure the subsidy would work, but said another was in place already. The R5bn youth subsidy was announced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan last year. Originally planned to be implemented from April this year, a company that employed a worker aged between 18 and 29 would receive 50% of the worker’s salary back from the South African Revenue Service, provided the worker earned less than the personal income tax threshold of R59750 a year.

"While it shares the concerns of sister federations that the proposed subsidy might be open for abuse by employers, Fedusa is convinced that tight legislation and guidelines to be implemented could indeed deliver good outcomes," Fedusa said.

Fedusa’s general secretary, Dennis George, said SA already had a wage subsidy in place, in that a R50000 tax rebate was available to all employers who implemented apprenticeship and learnership programmes.

"There were also other similar subsidies such as stipends paid to so-called 18.2 or unemployed learners and employees participating in the training lay-off scheme," said Mr George.

Fedusa was concerned that an unconditional wage subsidy would create a two-tier labour market.

"Rather, we urge a condition of training to be added to the subsidy, so that young people can gain both training and experience through the proposed system," Mr George said.

Fedusa has about 500000 members. SA’s biggest union federation, Cosatu, claims to have about 2-million members and is strongly against the youth wage subsidy. Cosatu argues that if employers get a tax break from employing anyone under 35 years old and currently unemployed, they will choose to exploit employees.

"What would stop the employer from firing all the older workers and hiring only those under 35 to maximise their tax breaks?" Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven has asked.

But business argues there is a lack of skilled people already in SA, especially those under 35. A large number of skilled people are older than 50 and nearing retirement, according to research firms such as Adcorp.

1.11 ‘If Cosatu blocks youth subsidy, give it to Western Cape’

Jenna Etheridge, Business Day, 21 May 2012

The Western Cape would make good use of half of the R5bn that has been set aside for a national youth wage subsidy, Premier Helen Zille said on Monday.

"We are appealing to the national government. If they can’t use it for the purposes intended there, because the African National Congress is allowing the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) to block policy implementation, well, give it to us in the Western Cape," she said.

Ms Zille added: "We will show you in a pilot project just how outstanding this programme can be if implemented properly, and we will also show that none of the negative effects that Cosatu is predicting will come to pass."

She was speaking after a briefing on a youth wage subsidy programme in her province.

Economic development MEC Alan Winde said the programme, created in 2009, had placed more than 2000 first-time job seekers into a six-month work position, with about 70% remaining in the position full-time.

The candidates needed at least matric or an equivalent qualification and had to be between 15 and 34 years old. They received a R1200 monthly stipend from the province, with many companies opting to top this up.

Mr Winde said the programme had been so successful it was already oversubscribed.

The national youth subsidy would allow the South African Revenue Service (Sars) to partially reimburse companies that paid wages to young employees.

Ms Zille said she supported the programme. "We fully support the national Treasury’s version. Obviously we can’t do that locally because we do not have control over SARS."

She called on President Jacob Zuma to make a decision on the programme. "We are saying to the president: lead this country. Are you allowing Cosatu to hold you to ransom because you want to be re-elected in Mangaung? If so, you are letting down the youth."

Mr Zuma said recently that the youth wage subsidy was before the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) so it could make final recommendations to the Cabinet. He said the challenge was to find common ground between opposing views on the subsidy.

Violence erupted on Tuesday when the Democratic Alliance (DA) showed support for the subsidy by marching to Cosatu’s headquarters in Johannesburg.

The DA has accused the union federation of blocking the subsidy’s implementation and costing young people jobs. Cosatu maintains the subsidy will displace existing jobs and enrich employers.

DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said she wanted Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi to witness the youth subsidy programme in action.

"I will today write to Vavi and urge him to come and see this success for himself so that he can base his position on evidence and not merely ideology," she said. "He relies on baseless arguments, such as that this policy would result in older workers losing their jobs, to justify his opposition to job creation."

Ms Zille said the provincial programme had not resulted in any job displacements, adding that and all employees were protected by stringent labour laws. SAPA

2. South Africa

2.1 SACP says ‘desperate’ DA is at its electoral ceiling

Natasha Marrian, Business Day, 22 May 2012

The Democratic Alliance (DA) had reached its electoral ceiling and was desperately trying to broaden its base by playing on minority fears of a black majority, the South African Communist Party (SACP) said yesterday.

The party joined its ally, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, in criticising the DA over recent policy statements and events.

The DA increased its share of the vote in the last election, while the African National Congress (ANC|) witnessed a decline, particularly in minority communities during the local government elections. The DA, however, trailed the ANC with its share of the total votes at 16,66% in the 2009 national election, compared with the ANC’s 65,60%.

The ANC acknowledged at its national general council in 2010 that the DA was the "biggest beneficiary" of the 2009 election and alliance leaders have warned that the party could make further gains if the ANC continued "scoring own goals".

"What was once called in colonial circles the thorny native question ... has now been dusted off, updated and botoxed into an inflated threat of one-party political dominance," said SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande at the launch of the party’s policy documents, ahead of its national conference in July.

Deputy general secretary Jeremy Cronin said the DA sought to turn electoral debates towards competition over "delivery, efficiency and addressing backlogs".

While this was important, it diverted attention from carrying forward the "structural transformation" of the country’s racialised geography. The SACP’s discussion document says the relative success of the DA could also be attributed to errors made by some members of the ANC and its allies.

"Organisations like the DA tried to exploit the political demagoguery from our own ranks to try to say, look what happens when you have a black majority," Mr Nzimande said, referring to reckless and insulting comments by ANC members.

"All these things are then used to say, look at what the ANC is, as if that is what represented the ANC, or its allies for that matter."

Mr Cronin said it was a "huge asset" that SA had not morphed into a western democracy — such as the US, with a two-party dispensation in which the centre-left and centre-right oscillated through office and were barely distinguishable from each other.

"We think that given the huge developmental needs that we have got, given the potential fragmentation of our society coming out of a very wounded past, that the importance of building national consensus, of building national unity, by far overrides the need for narrow opposition," he said.

The SACP would also discuss "socialisation" of mines and other key sectors of the economy at its coming conference.

Its leaders have previously expressed opposition to the nationalisation of mines as proposed by the ANC Youth League.

The party, which says its membership has almost doubled since 2009, is seeking to swell its numbers to 500000 in the next five years.

The SACP is set to discuss the organisational changes required to manage a burgeoning membership, including strengthening its party headquarters.

The SACP national conference takes place in KwaZulu-Natal.

2.2 SACP blames Mbeki for DA's successes

Olebogeng Molatlhwa, Sowetan, 22 May 2012

Former president Thabo Mbeki's staunch critics - the SA Communist Party - have accused his administration's apparent inability to deal with corruption as the cause of the Democratic Alliance's rise at the polls.

Though acknowledging the DA's performances during recent elections, SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande yesterday moved quickly to dismiss the official opposition as a real threat to the ANC.

He instead argued that the party's ascendency from motor-mouth to a governing party was accidental, owing to the "grave errors" committed by the "1996 class project".

The racially charged political statements made by expelled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema were also blamed for the party's success.

"The relative success of the DA also has much to do with the grave errors committed by the 1996 class project (Mbeki) and its African bourgeois nationalist offspring, the new tendency (Julius Malema).

"Our failures to consistently deal decisively with corruption, factionalism and the abuse of state power have also fed the "tyranny of the majority" ideological platform of the DA", Nzimande said.

Nzimande - while admitting that the ruling party had not always been adept at providing services to citizens - said despite this and the growth of the DA, the ANC would not break a sweat at the polls.

"The DA has resorted to taking advantage of signs of demagoguery in our movement to say 'look what happens when a black majority is in charge'," equating the DA's warnings of South Africa becoming a one-party state to the "native question".

"But despite these things, the ANC will continue to win elections comfortably."

Deputy SACP general secretary Jeremy Cronin accused the DA of playing on white South Africans' fears, saying: "It (DA) derives its electoral support by mobilising different communities to think of themselves not as South Africans, but as minorities threatened by an African majority."

Nzimande said the DA found it easier to deliver services because it governed in historically rich areas.

"In the first place, the DA tends to win elections only in localities that are relatively wealthy and well-resourced, which immediately skews any delivery competition between it and the ANC with its mass-base in impoverished townships that have a weak revenue base," Nzimande said.

Mbeki's spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga, could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.

2.3 Mantashe warns on changes to state policy

Sam Mkokeli, Business Day, 22 May 2012

African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Gwede Mantashe wants the government to be "given the space to do its work", warning that challenges to projects already funded could damage South Africa’s creditworthiness and cripple delivery.

There are concerns that delays in the implementation of government decisions such as Gauteng’s e-tolls and the youth subsidy could dent South Africa’s credit rating, making it difficult for the country and state-owned enterprises to raise funds on the international market.

South Africa is pursuing a big infrastructure and energy investment drive that partly relies on international loans and foreign investment, which could be jeopardised by citizens and their organisations taking issue with the government’s economic decisions.

Disagreements in the ruling alliance about economic policy have been at the centre of recent delays, with powerful trade unions blocking the implementation of the youth subsidy and the e-tolls.

Moody’s Investors Service, which put South Africa under negative watch last year, warned last week the delayed implementation of the toll system was a "perfect" example of how popular pressure could force changes in policy.

The ratings agency downgraded the South African National Roads Agency in March due to uncertainty over repayment of the state-guaranteed R20bn loan used to upgrade Gauteng’ s highways.

Mr Mantashe said on Monday the downgrade could have far-reaching consequences, as questions would be asked about other public institutions and their capacity to raise funds.

"Once they are downgraded, they will raise money more expensively and delivery will be slower. That is the ultimate end," he told reporters at a briefing on the ANC’s national executive committee meeting at the weekend. The Cabinet’s decision to appeal against a court interdict blocking the start of the e-tolls this month was backed by the ANC’ s leaders at the weekend, he said.

Mr Mantashe said the Treasury, which last year allocated R5bn for a trial youth wage subsidy, should be given room to operate. "Give it space to run the finances of the country because it is running them well. If you tamper with their capacity to run in that space, the ability of the economy to do certain things is going to be tampered with and when that happens down the line we will not be connecting the dots," he said.

Treasury spokesman Jabulani Sikhakhane supported Mr Mantashe’s call. "We are fully in support of the ANC secretary-general’s comments and we call on all South Africans to heed them," he said.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), an ally of the ANC, was at the forefront of a campaign that led to e-tolling being temporarily frozen, before a civil society group obtained an interdict stopping it.

Mr Mantashe said bilateral discussions between Cosatu and the ANC over the e-tolls and the youth subsidy were now escalated to the tripartite alliance level, with the South African Communist Party roped into the talks.

He said there was a tendency for parties to get bogged down in definitions of terms, such as "decent work" versus "more jobs", which ultimately delayed employment creation.

He said the "preoccupation" with terms and their definitions, instead of the interventions and their objectives, hindered movement on jobs.

Broadening the debate to all the alliance structures would transform it from a "narrow debate on wage subsidy", to looking at the required interventions for rapid youth employment, Mr Mantashe said.

2.4 SACP slams 'predatory' practices

Olebogeng Molatlhwa, Sowetan, 22 May 2012

South Africa's economic prowess in Southern Africa has been described as "predatory", with criticism that it left little development in the region.

This blunt criticism was levelled yesterday by the SACP at business ventures spearheaded by the government and local companies.

As part of the SA Communist Party's discussions ahead of July's elective congress, the SACP questioned the motives of South African businesses, their business practices in countries like Mozambique and Lesotho, and their purported benefits.

"For the major part of the 20th century, South African capital treated our neighbouring countries largely as migrant labour reserves and as zones of mineral and energy extraction," discussion documents state.

"Still today, South African and multinational capital extract hydro-energy from Mozambique or water from Lesotho, for instance, with little evidence of effective development in return."

Meanwhile, the party has proposed the establishment of a state mining house that would allow the government to gain greater control over prospecting and mining rights. Another proposal put forward by the party is a windfall tax on mining profits.

The proposal is likely to be vigorously resisted by mining houses, who will argue that revenue generated from prospecting and mining licences, as well as taxes, should be adequate.

Internationally, a similar proposal was made in Australia by former prime minister Kevin Rudd. The move was rejected, with mining bosses threatening to disinvest. Rudd stood down from office over the matter after pressure from his own party.

2.5 Controversial Zuma painting defaced

Business Day, 22 May 2012

A controversial painting of President Jacob Zuma in the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg was defaced on Tuesday morning, gallery staff confirmed.

The painting, by artist Brett Murray, is titled "The Spear" and is based on a Soviet-era poster of Vladimir Lenin striking a dramatic pose. It shows the president with his genitals exposed.

The artwork was defaced by two men, gallery staff said. "One man painted a red X across Zuma’s face and the second covered the painting with black paint," a gallery spokesman said.

A university professor and a 15-year-old boy were in custody at the Rosebank police station. Greg Palmer, attorney for the Goodman Gallery, said the gallery would lay charges of destroying private property against them.

Meanwhile, a court challenge by the African National Congress to have the painting removed from the Goodman Gallery will be broadcast live on television on Thursday, the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ruled on Tuesday.

Judge Kathree Setiloane also granted permission for e.tv and eSat to broadcast the court proceedings live. "This is a matter of great national importance," the judge said.

The date was set after a quick hearing in the packed court. It was over in 15 minutes, with the judge moving on to other matters.

Hundreds of people carrying posters criticising the painting toyi-toyied outside the court.

Protesters wore T-shirts proclaiming "President Zuma has the right to human dignity and privacy" in red and black, the main colours of the painting and held aloft posters with the ANC logo and the words "We say no to abuse of artistic expression".

On Monday, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe called the painting "rude, crude, disrespectful and racist" and said that if a white man had been depicted, the reaction would have been very different.

"I said, ‘How about the idea of going to court tomorrow and as we sit there we can take off our trousers ... we can walk around with our genitals hanging out.’ It’s crude," Mr Mantashe told reporters after a meeting of the party’s national executive committee.

The ANC wants the gallery to remove the painting because, it claims, it violates the right of dignity of Mr Zuma and the ANC. It also want City Press newspaper to remove images of the painting from its website.

Both the gallery and City Press have refused. With SAPA

2.6 Prof, man caught for damaging Zuma painting

Jenni Evans, IOL, 22 May 2012

A university professor and a 25-year-old* man are believed to be behind Tuesday's defacing of a controversial painting of President Jacob Zuma.

The two were in custody at the Rosebank police station after they allegedly painted over the genitals on the artwork.

Greg Palmer, attorney for the Goodman Gallery which is hosting the exhibition by the artist Brett Murray, said the gallery would lay charges of destroying private property against them.

Earlier a television journalist working on a story about the painting, titled “The Spear”, told how she tried to stop the older man from damaging the work.

Iman Rappetti, eNews channel anchor, was in the Goodman Gallery in Rosebank, close to the work when the man took out a pot of paint and marked an X across the genital area of the portrait.

She said she grabbed him, while shouting to gallery staff to come and help her.

“It was surreal.”

Rappetti described the vandal as a completely “ordinary” looking critic wearing a tweed jacket. Unbeknown to Rappetti the younger man was standing behind her with a large pot of black paint.

He started “going to town on the picture”, she said.

“I was screaming.”

Gallery staff apprehended both men. The police arrived shortly afterwards and took them away.

Rappetti said the gallery staff told her the first man had identified himself as an Afrikaans journalist. He had visited the Goodman Gallery before.

“He did not sound Afrikaans to me,” she said.

The public and reporters crowded outside the gallery, which closed.

Inside the gallery gate were three private and armed security guards wearing bulletproof vests - with one guard carrying a rifle. - Sapa

2.7 Thumbs up for local Olympics kit

Sowetan, 21 May 2012

The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (Sactwu) has welcomed the initiation of a competition to design South Africa's Olympic opening ceremony kit.

"We specifically welcome the decision that the design criteria require the outfits to be 'Proudly South African'," Sactwu said in a statement.

It criticised SA's Olympic body in April because the Olympic and Paralympic Games team kits were produced by Chinese manufacturer Erke.

Meanwhile, an international delivery service which normally uses vehicles and cycle couriers to distribute packages is turning to a team of runners to beat the London Olympics crush.

With close to 5 million visitors expected for the July 27-August 12 event, along with the stringent security measures, and special lanes reserved for athletes and employees, German express delivery service DHL is enlisting London-based JogPost’s team of foot couriers to help make sure its packages arrive on time on the clogged streets of the capital.

JogPost co-founder JJ Harding describes his 400-odd runners as mainly contract workers and suggested they would leave feats of endurance to the Olympians.

“They generally run somewhere between five or six miles a day,” he said of his crew. “Obviously we don’t want them running half marathons every day.”

Some 12,500 British officers will be deployed daily during the Olympic Games in the country’s largest ever pre-planned policing operation, the Metropolitan force said.

Police revealed that 52 forces from around Britain will provide officers for the operation, which will run from June 4 until September 16, after the close of the Paralympic Games.

Specialist officers trained in search techniques, marine, public order and firearms will be on call along with the mounted sections, dog units and motorcycle escorts.

Altogether, a security force of more than 40,000 people, backed by a huge intelligence operation, is to guard the Games.

Some 13,500 of the security personnel will be from the Ministry of Defence and armed forces, working alongside police and more than 16,000 private security guards and unpaid volunteers.

Security chiefs are believed to be preparing for a range of threats including a “lone wolf” terrorist, riots or cyber-attacks.

In February thousands of emergency personnel held a two-day exercise simulating a terror attack on the Underground train network during the Olympics.

3. International

3.1 South Africa wants "Made in Palestine" labels: minister

Shanghai Daily, 22 May 2012

South African Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said here on Monday that his country wants products made in the Palestinian territories to be labelled "Made in Palestine."

Products manufactured in the occupied Palestinian territories, and sold in South Africa, should be labelled to indicate their place of origin, Davies said, adding that the move should not be seen as an attempt to boycott Israeli goods.

It is a common practice in other parts of the world, including the European Union, to demand that consumers be informed of a product's origin, the minister said.

"A number of products are entering South Africa as products of Israel, even though they were actually products of the occupied territories," he told reporters.

"Our recognition is the 1967 borders of Israel. There is a distinction between products from within borders and products from territories outside, notably the West Bank."

But he said the government would like to listen to the public opinion before making a final decision.

South African consumers had the right to make buying decisions based on accurate labelling, the minister said.

The government's decision won support from the Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (COSATU).

COSATU "warmly welcomes and fully supports the decision of the department of trade and industry that certain goods originating from Israel must be re-labelled," spokesperson Patrick Craven said in a statement.

"The federation reaffirms its support for the Palestinian solidarity campaign for boycotts, sanctions, and divestments of Israel."

But Davies' remarks drew criticism from the Jewish community in South Africa. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies said the government's move "has unfortunately politicized a technical trade issue."

"South Africa should not adopt a policy that is discriminatory and inconsistent with how it deals with similar questions relating to products imported from other parts of the world," the group said in a statement.

The South Africa Zionist Federation said Davies relied on the views of groups whose aims were to enforce a regime of boycotts and sanctions against Israel.

"At the same time the minister has refused to meet and consult with interest groups opposed to his position on this matter," it said in a statement.

3.2 ‘No anti-Semitism’ behind Israel labels notice

Linda Ensor, Business Day, 22 May 2012

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has rejected "with utter contempt" accusations that racism and anti-Semitism were behind his plan to legally require that products made in Israel be distinguished in their labelling from those made in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Israeli foreign ministry accused Mr Davies of racism for singling out the Israeli conflict for such treatment while ignoring the other disputed territories in the world. Mr Davies told reporters during a media conference yesterday he was asked by an Israeli TV station reporter whether he was an anti-Semite.

The Israeli foreign affairs department has summoned SA’s ambassador in Jerusalem Ismail Coovadia to a meeting to voice its objections to the proposed application of the labelling requirements of the Consumer Protection Act to goods produced in the occupied territories.

Spokeswoman for the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, Hila Stern said Mr Davies’ decision was "politically driven" as it singled out Israel and held it to a different standard than other disputed territories in the rest of Africa, the Falklands, Cyprus, Western Sahara and Kashmir. "Either you apply the decision to everybody, otherwise there is something sinister about it," Ms Stern said, adding that SA’s position would not contribute to the resolution of the conflict but only aggravate it.

The Financial Times quoted an Israeli foreign ministry official as saying the proposal would "stamp, name and shame Israeli products on an uncertain basis" and that "singling out one country and stigmatising its products is a move with racist characteristics".

Mr Davies has signalled his intention in a government gazette to issue a notice in terms of the Consumer Protection Act to require of traders to ensure the products they sell are correctly labelled as either originating from Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories, failing which they would be penalised.

He has invited comment on the proposal until mid-July. His hand was forced by threats by civil society organisation Open Shuhada Street to take him to court if he failed to apply the law.

Mr Davies stressed that SA was "not unique" in requiring that consumers be given accurate information about the country of origin of products. SA only recognised the borders of Israel as those prior to 1967 — not including the Palestinian occupied territories — and supported a two-state solution for the conflict.

"We are not seeking to promote a boycott, we are not seeking to prevent the entry of such products into SA. We are requiring that they be correctly labelled and it will be up to consumers in SA whether they purchase those products or not."

The Congress of South African Trade Unions came out in support of Mr Davies while the South African Jewish Board of Deputies echoed the views of the Israeli government.

4. Comment

4.1 Cosatu holds blacks to ransom

Thandeka Khosa, Letter, Citizen, 21 May 2012

We have been led for too long by racist, dictatorial leaders in the form of Zwelinzima Vavi, Irvin Jim, Patrick Craven and others.

This breed of leadership smacks of the worst form of dictatorship: they are holding black people to ransom.

I lost respect for the tripartite alliance after the march, where peaceful marchers of the DA were met by the worst form of thuggery!

Vavi and Jim are the worst racists. They have clearly shown that a non-racial, democratic South Africa is nothing but a pipe dream.

Why do you think the ANC has given birth to the likes of Julius Malema, Floyd Shivambu and others, who always show the worst form of ill-discipline?

They learnt from the party’s leadership that being intolerant, racist and violent is okay.

The problem is that Helen Zille is white and in their twisted minds a white person can never represent the plight of black people.

Cosatu and the rest of the alliance also claim to speak on behalf of all black people, which I find disgusting.

They only thrive in an SA that is dominated by low levels of illiteracy and where the voters are easily fooled by their so-called love for the black masses.

The reality is there are more black people who are moving towards the DA and that is a fact.

The youth wage subsidy has been budgeted for and it is time this alliance of convenience is exposed for what it is!

There are many young people out there who are willing to get a job and work! They are not interested in what Cosatu has to say.

Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)

Congress of South African Trade Unions

110 Jorissen Cnr Simmonds Street

Braamfontein

2017

P.O.Box 1019

Johannesburg

2000

South Africa

Tel: +27 11 339-4911 or 010 219-1339

Mobile: +27 82 821 7456

E-Mail: pat...@cosatu.org.za

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