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Speech delivered by COSATU President, Sidumo Dlamini, to the sixth
Presidential Council of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) held in
Johannesburg from 9-12 February
The General Secretary comrade George Mavrikos
Members of the Presidential Council
Invited Guests
Comrades and compatriots
COSATU is pleased to have been invited to give a welcoming address to this
important meeting. We would like to thank and congratulate NEHAWU, NUMSA,
CEPPWAWU and POPCRU for successfully taking up the responsibility of hosting
this important meeting on South African soil.
COSATU comes to this meeting not just as an invited guest but as one of your
own.
It is a known fact that we share similar ideological perspectives on what
should be the solution to almost all the political and economic challenges
confronting the world today.
If we were to be asked as to what is the most sustainable solution to the
challenges confronting the world today we all can answer without any
ambiguity that Socialism is the answer!
It is for this reason that we will be entering into a discussion about the
type of a relationship we must have with the WFTU and how such a
relationship can take forward our commitment to achieve unity between the
WFTU and the ITUC. In the meantime we are clear that we must cooperate on
the basis of our common agenda to achieve socialism.
The current challenges confronting the world today, which are manifested as
poverty, unemployment and inequality, attest to the fact that capitalism is
a big scam and the world in looking for a way out!
The question is whether we have made people to see Socialism as a way out or
we think it is common sense that Socialism is the answer!
I must say that it is unfortunate that when this inhumane system has been
exposed at all levels of society the left forces in the world do not speak
with one voice and present their own alternatives.
People in North Africa, in the Arabian Peninsula, in Europe and in USA are
crying out loud for leadership and my observation is that we have behaved as
if someone else must provide leadership.
The fact of the matter is that no one will ever stand up and fight on our
behalf , even if they try they will be doing so on their own behalf and the
outcome will never be on our favour.
The Communist Manifesto explains this well when it says that "of all the
classes that stand face to face with the bourgeoisie..., the proletariat
alone is a really revolutionary class. The other classes decay and finally
disappear in the face of modern industry; the proletariat is its special and
essential product. The lower middle class , the small manufacturer, the
shopkeeper, the artisan, the peasant, all these fight against the
bourgeoisie to save from extinction their existence as fractions of the
middle class. They are therefore not revolutionary, but conservative. If by
any chance they are revolutionary , they are so only in view of their
impending transfer into the proletariat , they thus defend not their present
, but their future interests; they desert their own standpoint to place
themselves at that of the proletariat".
We are certain that your discussions in this meeting will be about the
alternatives that the left forces must present to society given the glaring
failures of capitalism.
We are certain that this meeting will be preoccupied with discussions on how
to present practical and workable alternative solutions to address the
growing levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality facing the world.
It is unacceptable that out of the 7 billion human beings that occupy this
planet more than 925 million of them remains hungry without hope for any
improvement given the deepening economic crisis.
In 2008 when the economic crisis erupted it was reported that during that
very same period food price increased and the spike pushed around 100
million extra people into poverty, and as I speak more than 44 million more
people have been pushed into poverty. How can this happen and the world
keeps quiet and not openly point out that Capitalism has failed humanity.
As this meeting sit, we must know that according to a recent report by the
ILO, about 1.1 billion people in the world are either unemployed or living
in poverty.
We must know that we carry a heavy burden to provide answers to desperate
people who wake up every day hoping to find a job.
It is us, the left axis in the world, who must provide an answer on how
build the 600 million jobs needed to sustain economic growth and maintain
social stability.
It is us who must table a solution before society on how to address
unemployment by the more than 74.8 million youths who are part of the 3.3
billion global labour force.
It is us who must stand up and put a stop to the fact that these high
levels of global poverty and unemployment coexist with high levels of
accumulation which continues to happen at the expense of the working class
and despite the fact that there was a global economic crisis.
The "World Wealth Report", revealed that the assets of the wealthy in 2010
rose by almost 1% to a record high of US$42.7 trillion. Their wealth has
even exceeded the peak of US$40.7 trillion reached in 2007 before the
financial crisis. In Germany there are 924,000 millionaires, according to
the study-an increase of 7.2%. Among the super-rich in Germany there are 839
households with wealth exceeding US$100 million.
I am worried that even in China there are similar trends. The number of
dollar billionaires in the China has reached at least 271, up from 189 last
year.
The average wealth of the 1,000 richest individuals - 5.9 billion Yuan
(equivalent to US%923 million) - represented a 20% increase from 2010, while
the hurdle for entry into the rich 1,000 list is now US$310 million, up from
last year's US%220 million.
We are worried that instead of being ashamed and humiliated, advocates of
this inhuman system have been given more political space to manoeuvre and to
continue with the big scam that capitalism is. When is this going to end
comrades?
The fact of the matter is that what we see happening in Europe, Tunisia,
Egypt and the USA is a sign that the people are taking the initiative. The
question is whether the socialist forces are there to illuminate the course
and guide these struggles.
This gathering must provide answers to this important question of
leadership.
Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets
Braamfontein
2017
P.O.Box 1019
Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24
Fax: +27 11 339-5080 / 6940
Mobile: +27 82 821 7456
E-Mail: patr...@cosatu.org.za
