Taking COSATU Today Forward, 21 October 2021
Norman Mampane
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#2021YearofCosatuLocals #Back2Basics #JoinCOSATUNow #ClassConsciousness |
Taking COSATU Today Forward
‘Whoever sides with the revolutionary people in deed as well as in word is a revolutionary in the full sense’-Maoo
Our side of the story
Thursday, 21 October 2021
‘Deepen
the Back to Basics Campaign, Consolidate the Struggle for the NDR and Advance the Struggle for Socialism’
All workers urged to take Covid19 vaccine jabs!
Organize at every workplace and demand Personal Protective Equipment Now!
Defend Jobs Now!
Join COSATU NOW!
Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NEHAWU Western Cape to submit a Memorandum of demands to the University of Cape Town
- Media invitation to NEHAWU 12th National Congress
- Media Accreditation for the upcoming NUM National Policy Conference 26th-27th October 2021 in East London, at International Convention Centre
- South Africa
Ø President Cyril Ramaphosa appoints Special Envoys to engage with Kingdom of Eswatini
- COSATU in the North-West Province is reviving its campaign against the exorbitant charges at the Swartruggens Tollgate
- POPCRU on the killing of two officers in Jabulani, Soweto
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
Ø Unions fear job losses if AGOA eligibility is withdrawn from Ethiopia
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
NEHAWU Western Cape to submit a Memorandum of demands to the University of Cape Town
Baxolise Mali, NEHAWU Western Cape Provincial Secretary, October 21, 2021
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in the Western Cape will embark on a march action which shall lead to a submission of a memorandum of demands to the University of Cape Town.
The action comes after numerous attempts by the union to engage the Executive Management of the University on issues affecting our members, workers and students in the institution and this process has not yield any positive results hence we have elected to submit a memorandum with the following demands:
• Institution to ensure safety of staff and students
• Abolishment of appointment of staff without advertisement
• Development of Dialogue / Performance Management System that will be transparent and fair for all staff members
• Investigation of how certain service providers have been in University for longer that ten years without any tender advertised
• Investigation whether the alleged relationship between current UCT management and previously G4S Managers has not led to appointment of Thorburn Security Services in an unlawful manner
• Immediate advertisements of Campus cleaning management positions
• Immediate payment of provident fund for Grounds and Gardens workers as we had expected when they were insourced
• Insourcing of all services which became outsourced at the emergence of COVID-19
• One Bargaining Council for Pay Class 2 – Pay Class 12
• Abolishment of Pay Class 2 and all workers on pay class to be elevated to pay class 3
• Implementation of extended family funeral cover by no later than 01 December 2021.
The media is invited to cover the march which shall take place as follows:
Date: 25 October 2021
Time: 09:00 to 12:00
Meeting Point: UCT Forest Hill Residence (Block B), 89 Main Road
END
Issued by NEHAWU Western Cape Secretariat
For more information, please contact: Cde Baxolise Mali (NEHAWU Western Cape Provincial Secretary) at 066 3050 591 or Baxo...@nehawu.org.za Or Cde Lucky Bopape (Western Cape Provincial Deputy Secretary) at 083 719 0692 or email: LBo...@gmail.com
Visit NEHAWU website: www.nehawu.org.za
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Media invitation to NEHAWU 12th National Congress
Lwazi Nkolonzi, NEHAWU Acting National Spokesperson, October 20, 2021
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] will be holding its 12th National Congress under the Theme “Strengthen workplace organisation to defend collective bargaining, deepen class consciousness and advance internationalism" as from the 03rd – 06th November 2021 at Birchwood Hotel, Boksburg, Gauteng.
The national congress is the highest decision-making body of the union and has powers to adopt new policies, resolutions and also elect new National Office Bearers [NOBs]. The congress will be attended by delegates drawn from all structures of the national union and will assess progress made in the implementation of its resolutions since the last congress that was held in 2017.
The congress will also adopt a reviewed Medium Term Strategy - the Strategic Policy Framework [SPF] and the (10) Ten Year-Plan of the national union post the 12th congress which maps a way forward for the national union.
The 12th Congress will represent a historic moment for NEHAWU, as the union will be launching a Book recording its history since its inception in 1987 and also it will be celebrating the Centenary of the Vanguard, the South African Communist Party (SACP) during the congress.
Our congress will be blessed by addresses from the Tripartite Alliance [ANC, SACP and COSATU] and international fraternal organisations [World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) and Trade Union International Public Service &Allied (TUI – PS&A).
The 12th National Congress is scheduled as follows:
Date: 03 – 06 November 2021
Venue: Birchwood Hotel, 14 View Point Rd, Bartlett AH,
Boksburg
Members of the media are invited to attend, cover and report on the important proceedings of the congress. To confirm attendance, journalists are requested to send their responses to the Acting National Spokesperson - Lwazi Nkolonzi by email lwa...@nehawu.org.za.
The following information should be included in the confirmation reply for accreditation and logistical purposes:
· Name and Surname
· Name of Media Institution
· Contact details [email and cell phone number]
Issued by NEHAWU Secretariat
For further information, please contact: Lwazi Nkolonzi (Acting National Spokesperson) at 081 558 2335 or email: lwa...@nehawu.org.za
Visit NEHAWU website: www.nehawu.org.za
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Media Accreditation for the upcoming NUM National Policy Conference 26th-27th October 2021 in East London, at International Convention Centre
Livhuwani Mammburu, NUM National Spokesperson, 19 October 2021
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will hold its National Policy Conference from 26-27 October 2021 where a range of policy issues within the sectors where the NUM is organising would be discussed and future plans are outlined.
The policy conference, which would be taking place at East London International Convention Centre (ICC) is organised under the theme “Back to Basics Means to Engage in Recruitment and Service to Members”.
Amongst the speakers invited to address the conference are leaders from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP) 1st Deputy General , the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) and the IndustrALL Global Union.
]The Minister of Mineral Resources & Energy (DMRE) Gwede Mantashe and the Minister of Employment & Labour Thulas Nxesi are scheduled to address the policy conference.
Due to the high-security nature of the conference and in respect to the country’s Covid-19 Level -1 regulations, members of the media are urged to apply for accreditation timorously.
The NUM will not be able to entertain the last-minute request for accreditation.
For accreditation purposes, members of the media can forward their details i.e names, contact details and the name of the media house they are from to mamm...@gmail.com<mailto:mamm...@gmail.com> or lchi...@num.org.za<mailto:lchi...@num.org.za>.
The full programme will be distributed soon to accredited journalists.
For more detailed information, please contact:
Livhuwani Mammburu, NUM National Spokesperson, 083 809 3257
Luphert Chilwane, NUM Media Officer, 083 809 3255
The National Union of Mineworkers
7 Rissik Street.
Cnr Frederick
Johannesburg
Tel: 011 377 2111
Cell: 083 809 3257
Web: www.num.org.za<http://www.num.org.za>
Twitter: @Num_Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NUM/100860023402167
South Africa
President Cyril Ramaphosa appoints Special Envoys to engage with Kingdom of Eswatini
21 Oct 2021
Chair of SADC Organ appoints Special Envoys to engage with the Kingdom of Eswatini
President Cyril Ramaphosa has, in his capacity as Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Defence, Politics and Security Cooperation, appointed Special Envoys to engage with His Majesty King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini on security and political developments in the Kingdom.
The President appreciates His Majesty King Mswati III’s availability to receive a delegation comprising:
· Mr Jeffrey Radebe, former South African Cabinet Minister;
· Ms Candith Mashego-Dlamini, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation;
· A Representative of the Republic of Botswana, the former Chair of the Organ;
· A Representative of the Republic of Namibia, the incoming Chair of the Organ, and
· Ms Maropene Ramokgopa, Special Advisor on International Relations to President Ramaphosa.
The Special Envoys will be accompanied by SADC Executive Secretary Mr Elias Magosi, senior officials of the SADC Secretariat and senior officials of the South African Government. The envoys are expected to travel to the Kingdom this week.
Media
enquiries:
Tyrone Seale
Email: me...@presidency.gov.za
Issued by: The Presidency
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Kopano Konopi, COSATU North-West Provincial Secretary, 21 October 2021
The Congress of South African Trade Unions in the North-West province has noted that since the 2011 COSATU national campaign against e-tolls the provincial campaign against the most expensive toll gate in the country, little to nothing has changed.
The last time we had a march to the Swartruggens tollgate we pointed out the economic hardships that the tollgate inflicts on the working-class motorists who use the N4 road.
We pointed out the discrepancies in their tariffs charged at R75 for those using the N4 road, the majority of whom are working-class road users while the economically viable capitalists and farmers in and around Swartruggens are paying between R3 and R17 per light vehicle.
This tollgate continues to charge the exorbitant amount of R75.00 to date which makes it the most expensive tollgate in the country.
This is so, even when our economy is in its deepest recession in a century.
The unemployment rate has pushed beyond 44% and can even rise further.
The fuel price continues to rise by the day and the working-class continues to be rocked this high unemployment.
Most workers lost wages, pensions and benefits because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, this pandemic has exposed the reality that we live in a society where the majority of our people – the working-class – women, workers and blacks in particular, are living in extreme poverty, high unemployment and inequalities.
Yet, all these realities are of no concern to the Bakwena and the national Department of Transport as no means are voluntarily and consciously made to reduce the burden on the working-class users of the N4 road by reducing the toll fee to acceptable levels. No alternative, user-friendly and safe road is made available to them.
It is for this reason that the Provincial Executive Committee of COSATU in the North-West has resolved that COSATU should return to the Swartruggens tollgate and fight for the workers and working-class communities that are users of the N4 who are charged exorbitant toll fees that continue to dig holes in their pockets.
Our past demands have not changed but have been reinforced by the economic situation in our country and province. We call on the national Department of Transport to intervene on behalf of the people for that is what a Developmental State does as our government strive to become one.
We are therefore calling on all workers in our province and working-class communities in and around Swartruggens to join tomorrow, Friday, 22 October 2021 as we go back to the most expensive tollgate to demand what is in the benefit of workers and the working-class in general. COSATU affiliates are urged to release shop stewards as we implement the decision of the PEC.
Let all roads in the province lead to Swartruggens to fight for what is just and fair.
Join the call to action – Join the motorcade against the most expensive tollgate!
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POPCRU on the killing of two officers in Jabulani, Soweto
Richard Mamabolo, POPCRU National Spokesperson, 21 October 2021
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) is saddened by yet recurring incidents of police killings, with the latest victims being two officers from the Jabulani SAPS in Soweto, who were brutally attacked last night on the 19th of October 2021.
This unfortunate incident is said to have taken place within the vicinity of Jabulani Hostel, wherein the attack left one officer deceased at the scene, while the other passed away while receiving medical attention at a nearby hospital.
Police killings continue to be on a rise, and this has degenerated the morale among many law enforcement officers as their guarantees of life are becoming lesser certain.
POPCRU urges members of the community to actively share whatever information that would lead to the apprehension of these perpetrators with their nearest police station and urges members of the SAPS to act decisively whenever confronted by such characters.
There is an urgent need to formulate protective and preventative strategies necessary to protect our officers, and for this reason, POPCRU is closely working with the relevant stakeholders in ensuring there is a Policing Indaba, which will among others interrogate appropriate security measures to be put in place at all police stations in order to effectively control and secure the environment in which the police officers work, thus, limiting the risk of injury or death to our police officers
Issued by POPCRU
International-Solidarity
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Unions fear job losses if AGOA eligibility is withdrawn from Ethiopia
20 October, 2021
Ethiopian unions fear that millions of jobs will be lost if the United States withdraws the country’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which gives duty-free access to the country’s textile, garments, shoe, leather and other products.
AGOA, which gives special access to US markets for 6,500 products from Sub-Saharan African countries is set to expire in 2025. These products include textiles and garments, motor vehicles and parts, leather products, chemicals, machinery and equipment, agricultural products, and other goods.
Under AGOA, Ethiopian exports to the US increased from US$29 million in 2000 to US$525 million in 2020. However, the balance of trade still favours the US whose exports to Ethiopia increased from US$165 million to US$868 million in the same period.
Garment manufacturing is the largest beneficiary under AGOA and over 80 per cent of workers in the sector are young women.
In
an online meeting with Ethiopia’s trade negotiator, Mamo Mihretu, the United States trade representative ambassador Katherine Tai, “raised the ongoing violations of internationally recognised human rights amid the ongoing conflict in Northern Ethiopia, which
could affect Ethiopia’s future AGOA eligibility if unaddressed”.
Angesom Gebre Yohannes, president of IndustriALL affilaite, the Industrial Federation of Textile Leather and Garment Workers Trade Union (IFTLGWTU) says:
“If AGOA benefits stop, workers will be badly affected. Factories, which includes the PVH factory in Hawassa Industrial Park that exports primarily to the US, will be forced to close and workers will lose their jobs. This is not in the interests of the union. Workers at PVH are anxious about their future and expressed worry when they got the news on AGOA.”
The
PVH factory is the largest in the industrial park and recently the IFTLGWTU has been on a recruitment and organizing
drive after
a breakthrough following years in which unions were not allowed to recruit in the park. Other factory owners are from Europe and Asia and brands that include Children’s Place and Levi Strauss & Co. source from the park.
In a letter to the ambassador, Kassahun Follo, president of the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) to which IFTLGWTU is also affiliated, wrote:
“As a progressive trade union organization committed to human rights, peaceful resolution of differences and respect for universal democratic values, our confederation condemns in no uncertain terms human rights violations all over Ethiopia, and the perpetrators of the violations. We also recognize the importance of AGOA eligibility requirements on the protection of internationally recognised workers’ rights. Our confederation, however, firmly believes that removing Ethiopia from the AGOA eligibility list at this time will make things worse for Ethiopian workers and their families.”
Follo states in the letter that the textile, garment, shoe, and leather sector, has created over 200,000 direct jobs and over a million indirect jobs which are now at risk. Ethiopia’s industrial policies have prioritised export-based manufacturing which is seen as having potential to create jobs for hundreds of thousands of young workers.
Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary says:
“Trade union rights violations have to end. Withdrawing AGOA now will put in jeopardy the work we have done with our Ethiopian affiliates over the last years, but the threat is also a very clear warning to Ethiopian authorities that they have little time to secure fundamental trade union rights.”
__________________________
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 line: 010 219-1348