COSATU Today 28 October 2009
Patrick Craven
|
3 |
|
Subscribe at:
Published by the Congress of South African Trade Unions
1 Leyds Street, Braamfontein
Tel. 011 339 4911 Fax. 086 603 9667
COSATU’s Spokesperson is: Patrick Craven
COSATU’s Communication Officer is:
To receive COSATU’s media releases direct, subscribe at:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
COSATU Today
Our side of the story
Wednesday 28 October 2009
PATRONELLA NDOU
4 November 1974 – 24 October 2009
Memorial Service
A memorial service for the late Patronella Ndou will be held at COSATU House on Thursday 29 October 2009 at 15h00.
Funeral Service
Her funeral will take place on Saturday 31 October 2009 at 06h30 at Stand #361, next to The Headman (Vhakoma), Madombidzha Village, near Makhado (formerly Louis Trichardt), Limpopo Province.
Contents
1.1 CEPPWAWU protests against labour brokers
2.1 NEHAWU welcomes the Mid-Term Budget Policy statement
2.2 Peoples Budget Coalition Statement on the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement
2.3 Professor Jansen incapable of transforming Free State University
1. Workers
1.1
CEPPWAWU protests against labour brokers
Elias Dhlomo, CEPPWAWU KwaZulu-Natal Regional Secretary, 27 October 2009
CEPPWAWU KwaZulu-Natal Region embarked on a protest action in all companies that use the services of labour brokers. This is in line with the COSATU national campaign to fight for “decent work “and the recent 10th National Congress to ban labour brokers.
Thousands of CEPPWAWU members in Cape Coaters, North Safety, Timbercon, Co-ropak, Geochem, Africa Web Press, D & A Timbers, NCS, Polly Oak, Tetrapak, and E.C Powder Coaters gathered between 12:30 and 14:30 at Rubbertek in Pinetown to submit memorandum to the management of the affected companies.
CEPPWAWU members, fulltime shop stewards and the regional leadership were part of the protest action. The programme will culminate in a full-blown national action if the employers fail to accede to CEPPWAWU’s demands of doing away with labour brokers.
2. South Africa
2.1 NEHAWU welcomes the Mid-Term Budget Policy statement
Sizwe Pamla, NEHAWU Media Liaison Officer, 27 October 2009
NEHAWU has welcomed the underlying thrust articulated in the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) committing government to “doing things and thinking differently” in the face of the economic crisis ravaging our people. We therefore hope that this theme will be given expression in the review of the macroeconomic policy framework when the budget is tabled in February next year.
Hence, in this connection we also welcome a commitment to create 4.5 million job opportunities over the next five years. However, we are concerned that there is no much expansion in the budget over the medium term. Whilst the Minister of Finance reasserts government’s commitment to the five priorities of the ANC’s manifesto, including health, NEHAWU is concerned about the lack of detail on the National Health Insurance (NHI).
Instead, the minister announces that “public-private partnerships in the health sector will be stepped up” without giving any clarity as to what he is talking about.
This is against the background of the Polokwane resolution on the NHI calling for the strengthening of the public health system and the moratorium on the public-private partnerships by the Alliance summit in 2008. We believe that this mention of public-private partnership in the face of despicable profiteering in the private health industry can only give confidence to those who are opposed to the transformation of the health system and the introduction of the NHI.
Of course, we believe that it is important that the 10 Point Plan must be implemented. However, the simultaneous commitment expressed by the ANC manifesto to both the implementation of the latter and the NHI in the next five years reflects an understanding of the interconnectedness of the crisis afflicting the public sector to the floundering and wasteful private health sector. Therefore, NEHAWU is concerned about the talk of the 10 Point Plan “laying the foundation” for the NHI, without any clarity as to the status of the NHI over the medium term period.
To say that “the restructuring of our health system comprises a ten-point plan, beginning with leadership and consultation amongst all interested parties” and that “it includes an overhaul of management systems, improved human resource planning, better procurement of medical supplies, and investment in health infrastructure” - without any elaboration of how all of this is connected to the NHI as a key mechanism for the redistribution of the resources to address these issues enunciated n the 10 Point Plan is problematic.
Therefore, NEHAWU calls on the Minister to expeditiously release the discussion document on the NHI for public engagement and for the establishment of processes leading the finalisation of the Draft NHI Plan and its implementation.
2.2 Peoples Budget Coalition Statement on the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement
Patrick Craven, COSATU’s National Spokesperson, 27 October 2009
The People’s Budget Campaign (PBC) is a civil society coalition comprising of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the South African Council of Churches (SACC) and the South African Non-Governmental Organisation Coalition (SANGOCO). This coalition has for the past ten years tabled proposals on the spending of revenue by the national Treasury and argued for a participatory budget process.
The PBC welcomes the MTBPS’s emphasis on the priorities identified in the ANC elections manifesto: creation of decent work, health, education, rural development and the fight against crime. The manifesto programme is the basis for fundamental transformation and we welcome the Minister of Finance’s bold commitment that its priorities will not be compromised even in the context in the context of the economic crisis.
Reducing unemployment; poverty and massive inequalities - ANC Manifesto
One of the more significant features of the MTBPS 2009 is its bold steps to support an expansionary fiscal policy and the PBC welcomes the minister’s acknowledgement that in the context of declining revenue due to economic crisis, the overall public-sector borrowing requirement will be increased to 11.8% of the GDP to meet the manifesto commitments. This is a welcomed step that challenges the conservative macroeconomic policy framework the country has been following.
The PBC continues to raise concerns however at the continued failure of medium-term resource allocation to significantly reduce inequality in income, service delivery and overall resource allocation. Growing inequality will continue to hamper equitable growth and development, given that South Africa is one of the most unequal societies.
Macro-economic framework and inflation targeting
The PBC welcomes the Minister’s statement that we must ensure that monetary policy takes into consideration employment and growth as targets and not simply inflation. However we continue to be critical of the inflation targeting policy that impacts negatively on poorer households and small business, but we welcome the Minister’s invitation to a public debate on this important policy area.
On public procurement, wastage and corruption
The PBC welcomes the Minister strong stance against the corruption in both the public and private sector that is associated with procurement. We will do our part in exposing such corrupt practices wherever they manifest themselves. We further support the Minister’s commitment to deal decisively with wastage of resources in the public sector.
Decent jobs and public employment programmes as a critical intervention for of economic turn around
The PBC agrees with the minister’s emphasis on decent jobs and public employment programmes, which are a critical part of the drive to achieve an economic turnaround, and endorses his view that “employment brings the best prospects for permanent reductions in poverty”. But the MTBPS required greater emphasis on targeting youth employment in the medium term, given high youth unemployment in the country.
On public investment and bailouts
The PBC continues to express reservations on the continued waste of public funds through the bailouts of public entities that have been mismanaged, such as SABC. We call on those who have been responsible for running these entities into the ground to be held to account. The resources wasted in supporting mismanaged public entities could be used in supporting Eskom’s recapitalisation programme and save poor consumers from high electricity tariffs.
Social Security
The PBC fully supports the commitment to extend child support grants to 18-year-olds, but the minister’s proposals fall short of extending social grants to all unemployed South Africans. The National Framework on the Economic Crisis talked about a significant shift in improving Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) benefits to those who have lost their jobs. There needs to be urgent action to implement this policy.
Government Planning and Coordination
We welcome the initiative on ensuring better coordination and planning amongst ministries in the delivery of government programmes. Planning and implementation must remain the task of line ministries within a more coordinated manner.
The PBC will continue to play its role of monitoring and being vigilant, to ensure that real expenditure does not decline or shift away from assisting those who need better social security support, more decent work opportunities, improved education outcomes, better access to basic health care through a National Health Insurance scheme and rural development, in favour of projects that do not provide any benefit to ordinary South Africans.
2.3 Professor Jansen incapable of transforming Free State University
Nomusa Cembi, SADTU’s Media Officer, 27 October 2009
In his inaugural speech as the first black rector of the University of Free State, Professor Jansen clearly demonstrated that he was incapable of transforming that institution.
SADTU abhors racism and Jansen’s announcement that he would drop charges against the four white students who forced five black workers to eat food they had urinated on, was racist in favour of the students.
Jansen said he was doing this in the spirit of “toenadering”. Our understanding of tonadering is that it has to be truthful, the perpetrator should take full responsibility for his or her actions and there should be full engagement of both the perpetrator and the victim.
We have seen none of these in Jansen’s gesture. We are not aware of any attempts by these students to engage the workers they humiliated and denigrated.
The victims were the last people in Jansen’s mind as he never sought their opinion before making his statement. Instead, he offered some form of reparation. Can reparation buy their dignity?
We are also not impressed by Jansen’s record as Dean of Education at the University of Pretoria as we saw very little transformation in the Faculty.
SADTU is therefore calling for the Human Rights Commission to investigate Jansen’s racist action.
We call upon Jansen, in the interest of education transformation, to do the honourable thing and humbly tender his resignation.
2.4 MKMVA respects section 16 of the Constitution
Mangaliso Khonza, MKMVA Media Officer, 27 October 2009
MKMVA has noted the statements of COPE that were published in the media regarding our response to Kader Asmal.
It is important that we highlight that we have respect for Section 16 of the Constitution and we have fought for the freedoms and rights that are encapsulated in the Bill of Rights; and we further state that we will defend the rights in the same morale that we fought for them.
We therefore want to convey a message that COPE should not try to recruit Kader Asmal through the pretense of being defenders of Freedom of Speech.
If they want to recruit Kader Asmal they must approach him directly as freedom of association is a right. COPE must not pretend to understand the Constitution better as it has failed to deal with internal democracy within its own structures, and now it claims to be a defender of freedom of speech when members have left their party because of lack of internal democracy.
2.5 ANC YL welcomes the decision to boot the Executive Council of Tshwane
Thandiswa Mpondo, Tshwane ANC YL Regional Spokesperson, 27 October 2009
The ANC Youth League Tshwane Region unequivocally welcomes the decision of the ANC Regional Executive Committee today to reshuffle the Executive Council of the City of Tshwane Municipality. It is an open secret that our beloved city has became a national laughing stock as it has move from one crisis to another with regard to maladministration and mismanagement as result of lack of leadership to effectively implement the programme of service delivery. At most, the Executive Council found itself wanting when it matters most.
As the ANC Youth League we feel vindicated by the reshuffling, as it confirms our early calls that Tshwane need a vibrant and a people driven leadership with a clear. We therefore, wish to applaud the newly elected ANC leadership in the region for taking such a bold and decisive action against these incompetent and lazy officials. This send a clear message to everyone that incompetent and laziness will not be tolerated in the ANC. We hope that these will not just be a cosmetics change and that all new officials have been appointed on merit with the main mandate to SERVE the people.
We further welcome the new Members of the Mayoral Committee and hope that they will work hard to put Tshwane as the “true center of excellence” with regard to service delivery.
We are looking forward to work together with the ANC leadership and the new Executive Council on the issues of Youth Development in the City.
