Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 26 October 2016
Norman Mampane
Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin...
COSATU National Campaigns meeting resumes at COSATU House!
‘Whoever sides with the revolutionary people in deed as well as in word is a revolutionary in the full sense’-Mao
Our side of the story
Wednesday 26 October 2016
‘Unity and Cohesion of COSATU to Advance the National Democratic Revolution’
COSATU Cares!
Contents
Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
Ø Reminder: COSATU NOB's to participate on SAFM Radio Workers on Wednesday today
Ø Address by the Minister of Labour during the joint South Africa and Mozambiquè Ministerial farm workers & farm employers consultative imbizo hosted by Minister Oliphant of South Africa and Minister Vitôria dais Diogo of Mozambiquè held on in Tzaneen
South Africa
Ø Statement in Response to ANCYL - THE NEW AGE 25 October 2016
Ø Minister Blade Nzimande: Statement on the current University situation
International-Workers’ Solidarity!
Ø Education International Executive Board meets in Brussels
Workers’ Parliament!-Back to Basics…
Reminder: COSATU NOB's to participate on SAFM Radio Workers on Wednesday today
Norman Mampane, COSATU Shopsteward Editor, 26 October 2016
The Congress of South African Trade Unions will participate in the SAFM Labour Show – “Workers on Wednesday”, today, 26th October from 10h00 about the Topic: Farmworkers – Are they getting the necessary support and protection from State Institutions?
Workers are urged to participate in the debate by calling SAFM Radio on: 089 110 4207
COSATU will be represented by the Deputy General Secretary, Comrade Solly Phetoe.
Issued by COSATU
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Address by the Minister of Labour during the joint South Africa and Mozambiquè Ministerial farm workers & farm employers consultative imbizo hosted by Minister Oliphant of South Africa and Minister Vitôria dais Diogo of Mozambiquè held on in Tzaneen
The Department of Labour, 21 October 2016
Programme Director
HOSI N’wamitwa, Our Host;
Your Worship the Mayor of Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality; Councillor Maripe Mangena;
Her Excellency the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security of the Republic of Zimbabwe; Hon VITÔRIA DAIS DIOGO;
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs; Hon Fatima Chohan
Deputy Minister of Labour; Hon Inkosi Advocate Phathekile Holomisa
Directors General of the two Countries
Senior Government Officials here present
Workers / Employers here present
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
BON-DIA; COMO ESTÁS; ABUSHENI; THOBELA; NDIMACHERONI; GOOD MORNING; GOEIE MORE; SANIBONANI.
Today marks an important milestone in pursuit of our commitment to work together in the growth and development of our people. Mozambique and South Africa share a lot in common beyond being part of the African Continent. Our history; our indigenous cultures and languages are a living proof that we are indeed one nation only separated by colonial borders. Our relatives, our in-laws and families knows no borders as they are found everywhere in our two countries.
Honourable Ministers, Let me recall one of the founding fathers of the African National Congress way back in 1906, Pixley ka Seme, who I guess inspired the famous 1996 “I am an African speech. In 1906 Seme gave a speech at Columbia University in the US, where he was studying for a BA degree (before he went on to study law at Oxford). The speech was aptly titled “The Regeneration of Africa” The said speech won him the University’s highest oratorical honour, the George William Curtis medal.
The opening line of that speech went something like this, and I quote; “I am an African, and I set my pride in my race over and against a hostile public opinion. Men have tried to compare races on the basis of some equality. In all the works of nature, equality, if by it we mean identity, is an impossible dream! Search the universe! You will find no two units alike. The scientists tell us there are no two cells, no two atoms, which are identical.
The African already recognizes his anomalous position and desires a change. The brighter day is rising upon Africa.
Already I seem to see her chains dissolved, her desert plains red with harvest …her Zululand the seats of science and religion, reflecting the glory of the rising sun from the spires of their churches and universities. Yes, the regeneration of Africa belongs to this new and powerful period!” Close Quote.
90 years later, another former President of the African National Congress, Thabo Mbeki, visited the vision of Seme and had this to say, and I quote; “I am the grandchild of the warrior men and women that Hintsa and Sekhukhune led, the patriots that Cetshwayo and Mphephu took to battle, the soldiers Moshoeshoe and Ngungunyane taught never to dishonour the cause of freedom.
… I am born of a people who would not tolerate oppression. I am of a nation that would not allow that fear of death, torture, imprisonment, exile or persecution should result in the perpetuation of injustice. All this I know and know to be true because; I am an African!” Close Quote.
The mention of Ngungunyane, also known as Mdungazwe Ngungunyane; Nxumalo, the Lion of Gaza, in the “I am an African Narrative” is instructive and it proves beyond doubt that indeed our two countries are connected and are one.
Almost a year ago today, we placed ink to paper as a symbol of our resolve to work together in promoting those things that will make our two nations become a beacon of hope for our people. Today we are here, united in our commitment to take this ambition forward. I am not here alone Minister DAIS DIOGO, but I am with my Senior Cabinet colleagues from the South African Government as a sign that what we are doing today, enjoys the support of our government.
Our mission to work together finds expression in many ways, South Africa is your home away from home and Mozambique is our home away from home. As you know beyond having provided us shelter and support during the difficult days of apartheid, you also gave us a bride in “Ms Graca Machel” in the later years. That in it-self, doubled the debt that we owe your nation. This month marks 30 years since that tragic night when the son of the soil, a compatriot and a friend of this nation met his mysterious death at Mbuzini in Mpumalanga.
We will always remember when he once said, and I quote; “The rich man's dog gets more in the way of vaccination, medicine and medical care than do the workers upon whom the rich man's wealth is built.” Close quote. This is so apt, given what the purpose of this gathering is about. We are here to reflect and engage on how the workers, who are the builders of wealth, are being ill-treated and abused and what to do about it.
The question of what happened on that night still bothers us a lot. The fact that the truth about what brought that plane down has not come out, lingers in our minds like an unending nightmare.
May his soul rest in peace; “Aluta Continua”
Turning to the task at hand, the Mozambique nation continue to contribute in our economic development. As you know that one of the anchors of the South African economic has, for many years, been the mining sector and to some extent agriculture. The Mozambican nationals have played no small role in the development of these sectors and by extension our economy, I dare say. For this reason, the Mozambican nationals can rightfully claim to have assisted South Africa to be the giant economy that it is today.
Minister, we are aware that some of your nationals paid the ultimate price through the fatalities in the mining sector and some left without claiming their rightful social benefits. We know that the efforts of some of our institutions to provide health to ex-miners who may have contracted occupational diseases such as silicosis and other lung-related diseases, have not yet received their rightful compensation, nor are aware of the benefits that are due to them. We are also aware that there are cases where the principal member passed on and the rightful beneficiaries not pursuing their loved one’s claims due to lack of knowledge that such exists, or not knowing how to go about claiming such benefits.
We are also aware that some of the Mozambican nationals continue to provide their labour in various sectors of our economy, especially in those towns closer to our borders. Some of them are undocumented as a result are vulnerable to unscrupulous employers who exploit them to the core. Whilst most of these workers are unaware of their rights in terms of the South African labour Laws and those who may be aware are often scared to challenge their employers for fear of falling foul to immigration laws.
I am raising these challenges, not because they are the only ones, but merely to highlight the extent of what need urgent attention. The question of unclaimed social benefits and Health care for ex-mineworkers, require a concerted effort from both governments. We need to draw up a joint plan of how best to address these matters taking into account our protocols and respective legislations.
The challenge of workers being taken advantage of by some employers, purely because of being undocumented or not being aware of the protection that the Labour Laws of this country affords them, has to be addressed with the urgency it deserves.
Our labour laws, Ladies and Gentlemen, provide protection to all workers regardless of their nationalities.
What could perhaps be useful is for both countries to mount joint awareness campaigns especially in areas where this challenge is more prevalent. It might also be useful for both countries to encourage our brothers and sisters from Mozambique to get documented, as that will be the first step towards keeping tap and even eliminating the inherent abusive practices that comes with being undocumented.
Our resolve to ensure that the MoU between our two countries is not merely a piece of paper, but is turned into a programme of action with demonstrable outcomes, must be pursued and realised at every level.
Let us live the vision of Pixley Ka Seme articulated way back in 1906 in his speech “The Regeneration of Africa” later aptly captured in 1996 through I am an African Speech”.
I have no doubt in my mind that this ambition is achievable Honourable Ministers; all it requires is focus and commitment.
This meeting must mark the turning point in the lives of our people especially workers of our two nations. Officials from our respective countries must, as a matter of urgency, be seized with the task of translating our MoU into a real catalyst for change as it is meant to be.
TOGETHER WE CAN…I THANK YOU
OBRIGADO!!!
South Africa
Statement in Response to ANCYL - THE NEW AGE 25 October 2016
Sabata Jonas, NEHAWU Northern Cape Provincial Secretary, 25 October 2016
Response to the Condemnation of NEHAWU by the ANCYL Northern Cape
As the National Education Health & Allied Workers Union [NEHAWU] in the Northern Cape we have come to learn of the unfortunate condemnation of the Union and its members in the Department of Health by the African National Congress Youth League. More importantly the serious attacks and condemnation of our members in the Kimberley Hospital Complex who participated in mass action which coincided with the fire at the Hospital.
In this regard we would like to invite the ANCYL in the Northern Cape to come and engage with the Union Leadership to get a better understanding of the issues and demands of our members in the Department of Health.
Some of these issues have been under discussions for many years and amongst them, includes the appalling working conditions of our members in Tshwaragano Hospital (JTG), the safety of our nurses after we lost one member in Dr. Harry Surte Hospital (ZFM), the slow progress on the implementation of the NHI Pilot Site (Pixley Ka Seme District) and many other challenges.
We respect the autonomy and independence of the ANCYL in airing their views without fear nor favour however we do not believe that this recent conduct is revolutionary in character.
The tendency to acquire political relevance and currency through media platforms is a foreign and anti-Congress tendency within the movement. More importantly, it is their decision to mislead the public and make it believe that the Union is reactionary, by solely focusing on our members in Kimberley Hospital Complex.
We will continue to engage with the Provincial Government and the Department to find an amicable solution to these challenges.
Whilst we do this, we call on all members of Society to desist from abusing the genuine demands of workers through various media platforms to become peace time heroes and rather focus their energies on the consolidation of our revolutionary project (NDR).
As NEHAWU in the Province, we further support all law enforcement agencies to speedily conclude their investigations on the unfortunate furnace that engulfed the Hospital.
Issued by NEHAWU Northern Cape Province
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Minister Blade Nzimande: Statement on the current University situation
Issued by: Department of Higher Education and Training, 25 Oct 2016
Minister of Higher Education and Training Dr Blade Nzimande National Assembly statement on the current university situation
Honourable Speaker,
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers
Portfolio Committee Chairperson,
Honourable Members,
Colleagues, students, comrades,
We are holding this debate at the time when our universities are under the spotlight over access to post-school education based on affordability. This is so because the students, correctly so, have decided to take it upon themselves to raise their legitimate concerns about the cost of fees at universities and TVET colleges.
The students have put their demands firmly on the table for our attention, and for the country and society to respond to and avoid any form of financial exclusion, particularly for the poor.
Honourable members, we have heard the legitimate concerns of students, because as government we have for some time identified the affordability of post-school education as a major challenge in our country.
To ensure the progressive realisation of the right to further education, government has developed a roadmap for the transformation of universities and TVET colleges to create opportunities for access, success, financing and support for students and institutions.
We have been addressing these challenges since 1994 and we have undertaken a number of measures to progressively realise improved accesss.
Honourable Deputy Speaker, let me reiterate without any shadow of doubt, that the policy of this government has always been the progressive realisation of access to higher education, particularly for the poor.
Government is committed to ensuring that all financially needy, academically deserving, university and TVET students, whether poor, working or middle class, are able to gain access to universities and TVET colleges.
As a result, we have made tremendous amount of progress, we have expanded access particulary to the poor through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) having funded over 1.7 million students since 1994. The scheme currently supports approximately 480 000 poor undergraduate students to access university and TVET colleges.
The Department of Higher Education and Training has received the largest budget increase in the 2016/17 financial year to the tune of R49.2 billion. This year alone, NSFAS has disbursed loans and bursaries to the tune R14 billion.
In this regard, we have short to medium term, and long term plans, as part of the roadmap, to transform post-school education and training.
In the short term, we have announced a number of interventions to assist students who come from poor and middle class families and for the first time in the history of post-school education, the so-called “missing middle”.
In the 2017 academic year, all students from families with an annual family income of up to R600 000 will experience a no fee increase. This means it is no fee increment in 2017 for this category of students. This will benefit more than 75% of university and college students, and in some institutions, more than 90% of students will benefit.
We have also gone further and made arrangements through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to pay the registration fees for all NSFAS funded students as an upfront payment to universities and TVET colleges in January each year. Therefore, NSFAS qualifying students will not pay any registration or upfront fees in 2017.
Students from households with an annual family income of up to R600 000, i.e. the “missing middle”, will be allowed to register without paying any upfront or registration fees in 2017.
Government has also addressed the issues of historical debt of students. All NSFAS qualifying students who are registered in 2016, having historical student debt with institutions of higher education will be allowed to register in 2017. All universities will ensure that “missing middle” students who have historical student debt are not excluded on the basis of debt and will also be allowed to register in 2017.
We also wish to draw to the attention of students who are still studying or are in their first year of employment, that NSFAS will only collect debt from all graduates a year after they finished their studies.
Honourable Members, for the long term we have recently received a report from Mr Sizwe Nxasana, the Chairperson of the NSFAS Board on the development of support and funding model for poor and “missing middle” students. The report will go a long way in not only addressing the funding problems by poor and “missing middle” students but also in addressing among other challenges the NSFAS model itself. The report also received the backing from a range of stakeholders including business leaders who are part of the solution and will improve the partnership between government, the private sector and higher education institutions.
We are processing the Nxasana report and will be presented to Cabinet for consideration and decision.
We are also processing the draft Policy and Revised Funding Framework for Universities, which emanated from the recommendtations of the report from the Ministerial Committee on the Review of the Funding of Universirties which was led by the now Deputy President, Mr Cyril Ramphosa. The report reviews the experiences of six years of partial and full implementation of the current funding framework for universities. It also analyses the current funding framework to determine whether it has functioned effectively in achieving the goals set for it at its inception.
We have also established three new universities, the University of Mpumalanga in Mpumalanga, Sol Plaatje University in the Northern Cape, and Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University in Gauteng to further increase the number of spaces in higher education and ensure the geographical spread of contact institutions. This includes the construction of three TVET college campuses and plan to construct a further nine.
The Commission of Inquiry established by President Jacob Zuma, to inquire into, report on and make recommendations on the feasibility of a fee free higher education and training, continues to do its work. We call on all stakeholders to provide support to enable the Commission to speedily conclude its work so that it can contribute to finding long-term solutions. The commission has undertaken to release its preliminary report in November 2016.
Honourable Members, our advances are clearly visible in Stats SA’s latest survey. It indicates that at least part of the current pressure on university cost structures is a result of the interventions we have made.
For instance, the proportion of people over 20 years of age with post school education has increased from 9.3% in 2009 to 14.1% in 2015.
Never before have so many students had their fees paid by government alone or combined with bursaries and support from alumni. To name just two examples, at the University of Johannesburg 75% of students do not pay at all or a large part of their own fees. At Fort Hare, it is 90%.
We in the department are proud of the 51.6% rise in the numbers of young people achieving tertiary qualifications since the creation of the Department seven years ago, though a lot still nees to be done to address the pport through put and pass rates.
Honourable Members,
The scenes we have witnessed in some of the universities have unfortunately tended to undermine the legitimate struggle of students. These scenes include violence, intimidation and destruction of property, which our society has correctly condemned and rejected. We call on all students to isolate those who perpetuate these acts and report them to law enforcement agencies.
We convened a multi-stakeholder Imbizo earlier this month, which adopted a declaration, essentially expressed the need for dialogue, transformation of post-school education and the resumption of the academic programme immediately.
We call on all our institutions, working together with SRCs, to develop a central mediation and dispute resolution mechanism similar to the Institutional Forums within our institutions so we can resolve disputes speedilly.
Madam Speaker;
We also acknowledge the efforts made by many institutions in resuming the academic programme. We equally acknowledge those institutions who have been fairly stable and largely continued with their academic programme.
In conclusion, let us acknowledge the Vice-Chancellors, academics and university support staff who are ensuring that teaching and learning are happening in extremely difficult circumstances.
Keeping our universities open is keeping our public sector open. If the 2016 trainee teachers don’t graduate, about 20 000 classrooms will have no teachers at the beginning of the year. Junior doctors—those who are hoping to graduate this year—are at the front line of health service delivery in public sector hospitals.
I want to acknowledge the difficulties that this period poses for parents who are bewildered when they consider what is taking place in institutions. Please, continue to support and place faith in these institutions in order to resolve the problems we face and there is no other alternative than dialogue.
Working with the Ministerial Task Team convened by my colleague, Minister Jeff Radebe and relevant stakeholders, we appreciate that this is a critical time of the year with examinations already upon us, we need to work tirelessly to immediately resume the academic programme in all campuses. We believe that dialogue in responding to the demands of students can continue while the academic programme is underway.
I wish to thank the President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma for his leadership, the unwavering support of Ministers Pravin Gordhan, Jeff Radebe and the entire Cabinet for the progress we have made in this regard. I also wish to thank the Vice-Chancellors, student leadership, parents, faith-based organisations, traditional leadership and other stakeholders for their support.
A lasting solution must be found and will be found, lets all go back to class.
Thank you very much.
Issued by: Department of Higher Education and Training
International
Education International Executive Board meets in Brussels
Education International, 25 October 2016
With a full agenda to tackle, Executive Board members are convening for the 48th meeting to review EI’s extensive programmes around the world and look toward the organisation’s future plans.
Taking place from 24-27 October, the 48th Education International (EI) Executive Board meeting marks the first time the members have come together in a year.
Major items on the agenda include a review of decisions made since last year’s 7th World Congress in Ottawa, Canada; the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and a look at the progress of EI’s Global Response campaign.
The ExBo also plans to look toward the planning of the organisation’s 8th World Congress in 2019.
On 25 October, academic Howard Stevenson from the University of Nottingham presents his study, “Changing unions in challenging times: international case studies in union renewal,” which recognises the scale of challenges confronting teachers.
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Norman Mampane (Shopsteward Editor)
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 Direct 010 219-1348
E-Mail: mam...@cosatu.org.za
