Taking COSATU Today Forward, 27 October 2016
Norman Mampane
Taking COSATU Today Forward...
COSATU affiliates participate in the inaugural Essential Services Committee Stakeholder’s Conference at Boksburg!
‘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
Thursday 27 October 2016
‘Unity and Cohesion of COSATU to Advance the National Democratic Revolution’
COSATU Cares!
Contents
Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
Ø Keynote Address by the Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, on the occasion of the Inaugural Essential Services Committee Stakeholder Conference held on 26-27 October 2016 at Birchwood Conference Centre in Boksburg, Gauteng
South Africa
Ø Medium Term Budget Policy Statement
Ø South African Communist Party Statement on the medium term expenditure framework
Ø NEHAWU Statement on the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement
Ø SADTU North West Statement on the 2016 Matric Examinations
Ø COSATU Gauteng Statement on the Class of 2016
International-Workers’ Solidarity!
Ø CUT calls for workers to paralyze any right unless
Workers’ Parliament!-Back to Basics…
Keynote Address by the Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, on the occasion of the Inaugural Essential Services Committee Stakeholder Conference held on 26-27 October 2016 at Birchwood Conference Centre in Boksburg, Gauteng
Mildred Oliphant, The Minister of Labour, 27 October 2016
Programme Director;
Director General of the Department of Labour; Mr Lamati
Senior Officials of the department of Labour here present
Chairperson of the ESC; Adv Bono;
Deputy Chairperson; Ms Nkopane
Members of the ESC
Chairperson of the CCMA; Mr Dube;
Executive Director of the CCMA; Mr Morajane;
Executive Secretary of SATUCC; Mr Muneku
Leaders of our Social Partners, Business, Labour and the Society at Large
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Thank you for inviting me to be part of this very first stakeholder Essential Services dialogue Conference. I am deeply honoured to have been asked to deliver a keynote address this morning, and I hope it will contribute to your discussions as you shape the road map on how to deliver on your mandate. A very difficult mandate I must add.
The timing of your conference could not have been more apt, given the fact that it comes against the backdrop of the recently amended Labour Laws and more specifically, the Sections that deal with the Architecture and authority of the Essential Services Committee. We know to the extent that the recent amendments seek to strengthen the role of the ESC that these may lead to all kinds of Court challenges. I suspect that the labour lawyers and Practioners in this world of work are, since the advent of the recent amendments, having a field day seeking to find legally sound interpretation of the new amendments.
There will be those who will approach the Courts seeking to establish case law to strengthen your new scope and authority, equally there will also be those who will be running to Courts to limit the scope of what you can do and make your job even more difficult than it already is.
Programme Director; We all know that the right to strike is a constitutional right, and an emotional one for that matter.
We also know that the Labour Relations Act does contemplate restrictions on this right in respect of those workers who are engaged in designated essential services. I must therefore confess upfront that your job is not an easy one. You are placed between the Constitutional right to strike and the Constitutional right of citizens to receive essential services. In fact you are being asked to limit the constitutional right to strike in the interest of an equally important constitutional right of citizens to receive essential services.
It is, I must reiterate, an extremely delicate balancing act that is required of you. Well I suppose when the Committee members accepted the appointment to the ESC, they knew what they were getting themselves into. I hope you have a thick skin to withstand the critics who will be throwing all kinds of stuff your way.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Designating a service or any part of a service, as an essential service, is a hotly contested terrain, not only in South Africa, but globally. The Essential Services is a dynamic world of work and it is always evolving, what is important for us is to stay in touch and to keep up with the developments.
Trade Unions have argued that the designation of a sector or service as an essential service is unconstitutional, in that such a designation takes away, or severely limit the rights of workers to strike. While this assertion is by and large correct, we must not lose sight of the fact our law does find the delicate balance in that, it provides for additional mechanisms which neutralise what may seem to be a blanket restriction of the right to strike. The provision in the labour law that workers in a designated essential service can procedurally embark on strike action, provided that certain agreements are first put in place; that collective agreements can regulate the minimum services in the event of a strike, are useful balancing instruments in this case.
The recent amendments to the Labour Relations Act were carefully thought out and they do bring clarity to some of the ambiguities that existed in the past. The extension of the scope and authority of the Essential Services Committee will act as a catalyst in instances where parties are unable to find one another on their own. The challenge that confronted the ESC in the past, in the form of filibustering between the parties every time an exercise to reach a service level agreement is pursuit, is being dealt with in the new amendments.
Those who familiar with the debates around putting in place minimum service level agreement will know that the trade Unions’ starting point is that all workers must be allowed to exercise their right to strike without any limitations. On the other hand, the employers would, as their starting point, argue that all workers in the designated essential services should be barred from engaging in a strike. This presents a stalemate even before you start talking.
Given that there are not many minimum service level agreements that have been ratified by the ESC, since its inception, demonstrates the difficult nature of the task, and that it is not always possible to moderate the limitation of the right to strike by a mere designation of a service as essential. It requires a commitment and recognition of the importance of this legal instrument.
The other dilemma for both the employers and workers in the designated essential services is that employers are not too keen to use a stick approach against striking workers. By the same token, the trade unions see minimum service level agreements as a tool to divide the workforce between striking and non-striking workers. This is compounded by the no-work no pay principle for those partaking in the strike against those who will be entitled to remuneration by virtue of being barred from striking. They see this as a ploy to curtail solidarity among workers.
This leads to all sorts of problems for non-striking workers, including being labelled as free riders as they ultimately benefit from whatever is achieved through the strike action. Some of them are wrongfully labelled as scabs and even worse as “amagundane’ or amajelatuku, for no fault of their own. Just imagine the challenge it poses to the union leadership and employers alike, to select who should or should not take part in a strike? This is not to say this should be done, but I am merely under-scoring the point that compliances with the provisions of essential services will require more than just the elegant formulation of the law, but a commitment, and the appreciation of why this is necessary. Once the leadership understands and appreciates its necessity, perhaps there will be a general acceptance that it is a necessary headache if it is a headache in the first place.
There have been cases where non-striking workers, as a consequence of a minimum service level agreement, refuse to be separated from their comrades, notwithstanding the obligations in law and the minimum service level agreements where they exist. This in trade union terms is called solidarity and in my days as a trade unionist we would sum it up in a principle called “An injury to one is an injury to all.” Having said that, I fully subscribe to the principle of the existing dispensation on essential services and I can defend it with ease. Therefore I am merely raising these polemics to demonstrate that the work of ESC is by no means an easy assignment.
If you add the adversarial nature and the history of Labour relations evolution in South Africa, coupled with the motions associated with the right to strike, the task of the ESC becomes even more difficult.
Those who have been following the recent debates at the ILO around the right to strike will attest to the fact that at times the emotions ran high between the employer group and labour. It is therefore not unique to South Africa that the debate that seeks to curtail the right to strike, no matter how rational the reasons may be, will always attract emotions. It is even more complicated for our country given the ugly journey of our labour relations evolution.
Programme Director we must therefore examine as to what extent are these dynamic the source of poor or non-compliance with the law in this respect? What can be done to achieve the paradigm that is necessary for optimum compliance to obtain?
These are but some of the complexities in the essential services world of work, and I guess it is the nature of the beast that we are dealing with. Maybe it will be appropriate that this conference adopts a “Kariga Mombe” approach to these difficult challenges, which means "taking the bull by the horns" in the Shona language of Zimbabwe.
Ladies and Gentlemen; Noting that strikes in essential services are unprotected under the LRA; which means that workers can be dismissed for misconduct if they embark on unregulated strike action.
It is worth noting that both unions and their members can even be held liable for damages and the Labour Court may also interdict strikes in essential services or any act which is deemed to be in furtherance of such strikes.
It is remarkable though, that employers, generally speaking, appear to be reluctant to resort to these actions for fear of inciting higher levels of aggression from the unions, maybe. Given the fact that no other penalties – administrative or criminal – can be imposed against striking workers, essential services workers, apart from a loss of remuneration, have little as a way of providing a dis-incentive for workers in these services to go on strike. So what is to be done Ladies and Gentlemen? is the question that requires careful and level-headed attention. What kind of incentives that are needed to promote compliance and possible disincentives to discourage non-compliance, the carrot and stick, so to speak?
Some argue that the “carrot” approach perpetuates non-compliance as it tends to be non-punitive in nature; similarly, others argue that the “stick” approach has its own unintended consequences as it tends to deepen adversarialism and undesirable behaviours during strike.
Is being mechanical in our application of the law, and turning a blind eye to these complexities, the correct approach to achieve full compliance?
Is the nature of the task at hand, such that it requires all of us to think more creatively, perhaps focus more on the spirit of the law, rather than an exclusive preoccupation with the letter of the law? Do we need to nudge the parties to develop and agree on a shared vision on how to make the essential services provisions live up to the intended purpose?
In the past, the voluntary nature of minimum service agreements and the inability of the ESC to nudge parties to agree on minimum services or, in the absence of agreement, to make binding proposals on minimum services, was the culprit which rendered the legal instrument highly inefficient. However we all know that the recent amendments to the LRA provide the much-needed interventions and deals with this weakness that existed in the past.
Whilst the ESC is still required to ratify collective agreements for minimum services, now it has powers to determine the minimum services required to be maintained in an essential service, where the parties fail to do so. As to why the parties do not take full advantage of crafting minimum services through collective agreements, as a way of minimising the limitation of strikes in the designated essential services, is mind-boggling.
Well, it is still early days to make any conclusive observations on whether or not the new provisions are yielding the desired results.
However this conference provides an excellent platform to analyse the impact of the new instruments, all-be-it at this early stage. I guess the inputs from the line-up of speakers in this conference will give us a sense of the current landscape, what is working and areas that require special attention. The panel discussion that will follow later, will also enrich the debate and by extension help shape the conclusions of this conference.
Programme Director; it is often said that if you want to learn how to craft best policies, go to South Africa, equally they also say that if you want to learn how not to implement policies, you must also go to South Africa. This is an unfortunate reputation I dare say and I am confident that this conference will help to redeem us.
The Essential Services Section in our labour law, is a classic example where its architecture is ranked among the best in the world, yet we are not reaping the full dividends simply because we are not so great on the implementation front. Once I am optimistic that this conference is the genesis of our journey to change the way of doing things.
Let me conclude by paraphrasing Don Oswald who once said, Acknowledging that you have a problem is the first step to finding a lasting solution. He says, you can’t solve a problem until you admit you have one. It is very common for most of us to ignore a problem in the hope that it might just go away?
But let’s be honest, how often does a problem just go away? Well you can ignore a problem, but that doesn’t mean it has been resolved or gone away.
You certainly can’t solve a problem by pretending there isn’t one. Nor can you find a resolution by making excuses. First you must admit there is a problem. Then you can explore what the causes are.
Let me congratulate the leadership and members of the Essential Services Committee for convening this conference. Let us use this meeting of minds as the first step of trying to find lasting solutions to our challenges in Essential Services world of work. Whilst we have a reputation of being good in talking in conferences and not so great in implementing our action plans, let this conference lead to the change that we want to see. It must not be an “on your marks, get set, instead of go, we go back to on your marks. This is what people say South Africans do, when we have a problem, we set up a Committee and when the committee fails we set up another committee to why that committee failed.
I wish you all the best in your deliberations, and please note that the value of this conference will be judged on the positive impact of the decisions we take and not the number of pages of the reports that will be produced.
As a parting shot, let me leave you with a paraphrase of one of Albert Einstein’s famous quotes, (Nothing destroys respect for government and the law of the land, than passing laws which cannot be enforced).
Indeed I appointed the current members of the Essential Services Committee after being satisfied that indeed they are equal to the task. Please show us that you are indeed fit for the job.
I thank you
God bless South Africa
South Africa
Medium Term Budget Policy Statement
Mugwena Maluleke, SADTU General Secretary, 27 October 2016
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union welcomes the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement presented by Finance Minister in difficult economic and political conditions not only in the country but world-wide.
We welcome the fact that in the light of falling revenues, the government is still committed to financing the country’s main priorities - education, health, social services and infrastructure.
We welcome the undertakings and commitments to the following:
On tertiary education:
• In addition to the R15 billion added to higher education funding in the February budget, the Department proposed a further R9billion for the Nation Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)
• Over R8billion to meet the costs of fee increases for students from households with incomes up to R600.000
• To increase the number of qualified teachers by awarding 39 000 Funza Lushaka bursaries to prospective teachers over the medium term.
• Government is working to expand post-school education and training to produce a large pool of mid-to-high level skills as envisioned in the National Development Plan. Improving learner throughput rates by developing teaching and learning support plans for TVET colleges as a priority.
• Training for artisans will be expanded and community education and training will receive support
We know this is way below the expectations of the thousands of students in tertiary institutions who are calling for free education. We are aware that the matter of free education cannot be realised by government alone, we support the Minister’s call to business to also come to the fore and lend a hand.
We are calling on government to expedite the process towards finalising a law on Wealth Tax, to allow the wealthy, who are primary beneficiaries of our education system to pay for quality, public and free education. The government cannot just make a call to business, the government must legislate education tax on the corporate and the wealthy.
On school infrastructure backlogs:
• A school infrastructure backlogs grant will be used to replace 510 inappropriate and unsafe school facilities to be replaced;
• Water will be provided to 1 120 schools
• Sanitation will be provided for 741 schools
• Electricity will be provided for 916 schools
On social services:
• The increase by R10 of old-age, disability and care dependency grants which was to come into effect in October, has also been extended to child support grant.
• A new conditional grant to support the employment of social worker graduates from the national scholarship programme
• A second conditional grand to expand Early Childhood Development services and the maintenance of related infrastructure
As we welcome all above, we are however concerned about the manner in which the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement has treated public sector employees as it seeks to suggest that the 2015 public sector wage settlement is limiting the availability of funds for crucial public services.
It further reads that if public-sector workers and government are able to reach a balanced agreement on wages and productivity when the agreement expires in March 2018, this would allow departments to plan for additional staff and make resources available to fund new policy priorities.
We would like to remind the Minister that government is elected by the people of South Africa and must not allow the IMF, World Bank and rating agencies to replace the process of collective bargaining. The government must come to the PSCBC and table whatever proposal they have about these important issues. The Treasury must respect the current collective bargaining processes and stop this arbitrary posture it has adopted emboldened by those who are only interested in liquidating the process of collective bargaining namely the rating agencies.
As a union in the public sector representing teachers and workers in the education sector, we believe the 2015 settlement was not made out of greed but it had to meet some of the concerns of our members.
We cannot wait until April 2018 before we can get additional staff and more resources.
Our resources are stretched to the limit as the Post Provisioning Model continues to subject teachers to overcrowded classes and we have instances of teachers not getting paid for months. This has untold effects to the wellbeing of teachers and to the provision of quality education.
Early Childhood development remains a cornerstone of any successful education system. The country will have to direct enough funding to create a conducive environment wherein all our children, in particular for those from poor and working class families to also access quality early childhood development . This will improve the chances of all our children to progress and develop their full potential.
We are happy to note that the matric exams started smoothly with little challenges yesterday. We call on all matriculants to focus and dedicate these last few days to realise their dreams of getting a matric certificate.
We know their teachers have done enough in the twelve years to prepare them for this moment.
We wish them good luck.
Statement issued on 27 October 2016 by SADTU Secretariat
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South African Communist Party Statement on the medium term expenditure framework
Alex Mashilo, SACP National Spokesperson, 26 October 2016
The South African Communist Party (SACP) notes, and given the difficult global and regional operating economic environment generally approves of, the medium term expenditure framework statement presented today in Parliament by the Minister of Finance, Comrade Pravin Gordhan.
The SACP welcomes the strong assertion by the Minister that our commitment is not simply for economic growth but inclusive economic growth. Hence the commitment to sustain and marginally increase public spending on social protection and key infrastructure programmes, including housing, energy and transport, despite the prevailing unfavourable environment and therefore in the context of a delicate balancing act.
The SACP further welcomes the increased allocation for higher education and training that caters for students from households with an income of up to R600 000 per annum – i.e. the lower strata of the middle class or the so-called missing middle. A further R9-billion for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and an R8-billion for higher education and training students from the lower strata of the middle class have been allocated as an adjustment in addition to the allocation made in the main budget in February. This shows that the government has listened to, and takes seriously, the genuine calls made by students towards accelerated rollout of free education for students from the households of the poor, working class and lower sections of the middle class that cannot afford fees or fee increases.
The SACP supports the strong theme running through the Minister’s statement on eliminating wasteful and fruitless expenditure across the state and the public sector as a whole and on zero tolerance to corruption. This includes the strengthening of the Chief Procurement Office, with a public procurement bill. The SACP in principle also supports the rationalisation of the 71 provincial public entities, of which many have been entangled in widespread corruption allegations, capital leakage and therefore the loss of resources that are direly needed to support national transformation and development imperatives.
It is in the context of the ongoing difficult global operating environment that the Minister indicated that we need to increase our national fiscus by R28-billion worth of additional tax revenue.
The Communist Party urges that this must be done through progressive taxation with a decisive focus on wealth and high incomes, rather than a further burden on the working class.
Any increase in VAT for example will impact not only on the employed workers but also on the unemployed.
Issued by the South African Communist Party: THE SACP
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NEHAWU Statement on the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement
Bereng Soke, NEHAWU General Secretary, 26 October 2016
The National Education Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU), notes the tabling of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) as presented by the Minister of Finance Comrade Pravin Gordhan today.
Unfortunately, the MTBPS does not constitute a serious departure from orthodox conservative policies that the Treasury has been pursuing over the years, nor does it take the country on a different growth path of a wage-led growth whose fundamental objective is to crush and eradicate unemployment, poverty and social inequality. This is demonstrated by the failure of both government and the private sector to announce on the minimum wage!
Higher Education and Public Sector Infrastructure Spending
However, NEHAWU takes note of the progressive shifts in the 2016 MTBPS such as;
- Continued increase in the allocations to post-school education and training: in that subsidies to universities will increase at 10.9 percent each year and transfers to NSFAS will increase at 18.5 percent;
- Increased public sector infrastructure spending that is projected to be at 987.4 Billion, with substantial investment in energy, transport, housing, water and sanitation;
Whilst NEHAWU supports the increases in subsidies to Universities and to NSFAS, our contention is that a long term strategy around the funding of free higher education has to be urgently devised. We will await the outcomes of the fees commission.
As NEHAWU we are of the view that the political and economic situation prevailing in the country requires bold and decisive leadership if we are to address the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty, and deepening social inequalities.
This is why NEHAWU is perturbed and disappointed in the Ministers proposals to reduce the expenditure ceiling to 16 billion in 2018/19, this will have a negative effect in the public sector as a whole, at the time wherein we need to build a strong effective public sector.
It also further contracts the economy as the reduced expenditure targets in this year's budget are already showing their effects in the revised economic growth estimate.
National Health Insurance
We commend government for rolling out the anti-retroviral treatment program to more than 3.5 million people; but a lot needs to be done in resourcing our National Health System. Resources for the National Health Insurance cannot be sacrificed for other programs, NEHAWU Demands that the Minister reveal urgently plans to finance the NHI. NEHAWU is also disappointed that the Minister has not reflected on the cost of Private health care in South Africa.
On Privatization of State Assets
NEHAWU is opposed to the partial privatization, rationalizing, and closing or selling off public assets as proposed by the MTBPS. We view this proposal as an attempt to roll back the gains that workers have secured through their struggles. In the event that government continues with these proposals NEHAWU will call on its members and society to fight back against privatization.
Compensation of public employees
We reiterate our position that it is wrong, for Treasury, to publicly engage on matters pertaining to wage negotiations outside the Public Service Collective Bargaining Chamber. We are concerned that the Treasury is already pre-emptively anticipating wage settlements that are below inflation. This will harden attitudes and intoxicate relations between parties before the wage negotiations have even begun.
We are concerned that the burden of adjustment in the public sector is being shifted to workers, whilst new ministries and departments have been mushrooming informed by narrow factional considerations. The Treasury is publicly blackmailing and scapegoating public service workers, labelling their legitimate demands as a "risk" whilst government has been dragging its feet on the implementation of the current agreement, especially with regard to the housing scheme of public service workers.
As NEHAWU we shall defend the legitimate interests of our members and public service workers in general; we reject attempts to address the macroeconomic imbalances at the expense of the ordinary workers whilst the judges and other managers in state own companies are allowed to claim extremely high levels of increases.
Any attempt to meet the dogmatic budget-compensation of employees ratio imposed by the sovereign rating agencies at the expense of our members, NEHAWU will fight back!
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SADTU North West Statement on the 2016 Matric Examinations
Keoagile Kale, SADTU North West Provincial Secretary, 26 October 2016
Together we shall conquer in these Examinations
SADTU North West takes this opportunity to wish all the 2016 Matric Learners a decent journey through the current examinations. At the beginning of the academic year, we had notable challenges that naturally suggested harsh experiences. You were brave enough to confront such with vigour and conquered them without being deterred. Amongst others; our schools were engulfed by unruly cross-winds that threatened the delivery of both qualitative and quantitative public education. Such were evidenced by the following:
- Community protests that denied both learners and educators access to schooling
- Stringent Post Provisioning Model
- Provision of resources
- Low educator morale because of the non- payments of Rural Incentives
- Uncertainties triggered by modulation and many more challenges
- Departmental delayed progress in implementing Collective Agreements
We want to commend all the learners for having subjected themselves to abnormal stretch of teaching and learning. This followed the collective approach and indulgence by the Department of Education and Sports Development, labour unions and in particular SADTU, religious formations and other components of our society. We applaud the stakeholders for the good work, and contribution they made. We further appeal that the support you rendered since the beginning of the year continues to shine throughout the examinations.
"Mosele wa pula o epiwa go sale gale." This all significant adage points to the need that we must plan and get ready for whatever cause we need to press on long in advance, must never be compromised. We must have learnt from bitter experiences. We now know what we must be put in place in order to ease the year ahead. As we end the year, challenges outlined must be attended by all stakeholders particularly the Department of Education and Sports Development in fast tracking provisions of the resources and the implementation of Collective Agreements that are meant to assist the delivery of education.
We wish you all the best and are certain that the efforts that we put as a collective of stakeholders will yield to flamboyant results and nothing to the contrary. Good luck in your examinations. SADTU is with you and will continue supporting you even in life beyond matriculation.
All the best to the class of 2016!!!!!!
Prepared by SADTU North West Provincial Secretariat
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COSATU Gauteng Statement on the Class of 2016
Dumisani Dakile, COSATU Gauteng Provincial Secretary, 26 October 2016
The Congress of South African Trade Unions in Gauteng is happy and satisfied with the level of preparation for the writing of the 2016 Matric final examinations.
We salute the role that has been played by the teachers under very difficult conditions to deliver teaching, learning and development to the learners.
We are also happy with the role that has been played by the parents to provide support to the learners and the teachers during the year.
We really appreciate various interventions that have been made by the Department of Education in Gauteng to ensure that the academic year runs smoothly and challenges are addressed.
We value education system and also understand the critical role that it plays for the economic growth and development of our country and the continent at large.
We are very hopeful that the learners will take this opportunity presented to them to demonstrate their commitment in ensuring that the country develops and they play their role in such development by acquiring the required and important certificate which would open many opportunities for them in life.
COSATU in Gauteng wishes all learners well!
Issued by COSATU Gauteng
International
CUT calls for workers to paralyze any right unless
By: Luciana Waclawovsky and Paula Brandão, Brasilia, 27 October 2016
The National Executive Board of the Workers' Central (CUT), which met on Wednesday (26) in Brasilia, reaffirmed on 11 November as National Day of Strike and Shutdowns, organized by CUT together with other unions and various entities of social movements that make up the fronts and Brazil Popular People Fearless.
During the meeting, leaders of the CUT entities representing the various professional fields and categories updated the organizational framework of the actions planned in the states, gave reports on the progress of meetings and plenary sessions being held on the bases and various sectors have indicated positively to strike on the 11th.
The Executive also reaffirmed the axes that will take to the streets across the country:
Against PEC 241 to freeze for 20 years investments in essential public services to the population, especially in the areas of Health (National Health System) and education (public and free) to the non - adjustment of the minimum wage, affecting mainly retirees .
HEALTH: The measure will achieve in full the SUS service. Programs such as Family Health, free medicine - especially the high cost - SAMU, measures to prevent and combat dengue, zika and chikungunya, treatment and prevention of HIV and STIs, H1N1 flu, vaccination campaigns and other services will be seriously affected by the lack of the current government investment. This also affects the public hospitals, in addition to agreements with Hospitals and philanthropic hospitals.
EDUCATION: Go missing money for construction, maintenance and renovation of schools and kindergartens;teachers' salaries will be frozen and there will be new hires. Material and free uniform, meals, school transport will be cut or reduced. Programs like Fies and Pronatec are suspended and will not have new contracts. The illegitimate government ended the Science Without Borders scholarships for students and researchers, and cut almost half the funding for universities. Moreover, youth and adult literacy programs were canceled.
Against Pension Reform , the main government's promise not to vote is to punish those who contributed most to the benefit, assuring retirement only from the age of 65 for male and female workers. It is important to note that the Constitution provides that the pension plan is part of a larger system, Social Security - that in addition to pensions includes other important program that is also threatened: the Unified Health System (SUS).
In defense of employment: against the labor reform that removes guaranteed rights and conquered by the working class since the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), implemented 73 years ago. One of the points of greatest pressure the current government agenda is outsourcing, which will directly benefit the employers endangering labor relations.
In defense of the Pre-Salt: heritage of the Brazilian people, the largest natural wealth of the country should be handed over to foreign multinationals are eyeing the newly discovered Brazilian productions. Today, Brazil is the third largest holder of light oil and natural gas reserve in the world, which makes the country is an energy powerhouse and a promise on oil exports. During the Lula government passed Law in Congress and sanctioned in 2013 in government Dilma Rousseff, ensures the allocation of resources from the pre-salt for Health (25%) and education (75%).
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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
