Taking COSATU Today Forward, 23 July 2015
Norman Mampane
Taking COSATU Today Forward
#Organize or #Starve!
‘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 23 July 2015
‘Strengthen COSATU for total emancipation.....The Struggle continues’
Contents
Workers Parliament
Ø SAMWU concludes Salary and Wage Negotiations with Water Boards
South Africa
Ø COSATU Statement on the Commission for Employment Equity Report
Ø ‘Forward with people centred-development”-COSATU Limpopo congratulates the newly elected SANCO Limpopo PEC
Ø COSATU welcomes consultations on UNFCCC 2015
International
Ø SADTU General Secretary elected EI Vice President
Ø Youth Employment in Eastern and Southern Africa
Workers’ Parliament!
SAMWU concludes Salary and Wage Negotiations with Water Boards
Papikie Mohale, SAMWU National Media Officer, 23 July 2015
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) is pleased to announce the conclusion of salary and wage negotiations with Amatole Water, Bloem Water and WSSA (Water Solutions South Africa).
After rigorous and lengthy negotiations and intensive mandate taking in these sectors our members have agreed to the salary and wage offers from these institutions;
Amatole Water
We have secured a single year agreement for our members employed at Amatole Water
1. An across the board salary increase of R 1 500 for all employees
2. Housing allowance of R 1450
3. Allowances which include, out of town, scarce skills, risk, cellphone, transport and death benefit.
Bloem Water
We have secured a single year agreement which consists of the following;
1. An across the board salary increase of 7.5% for all employees at Bloem Water
2. A new minimum wage of R 7 500
3. R 1 450 housing allowance for all employees
4. Four months paid maternity leave with the option of taking an additional 2 months on an unpaid basis.
Water Solutions South Africa (WSSA)
We have secured a multi-year agreement with WSSA on the following conditions;
1. A 13th cheque which will equal 10% of the employee’s annual salary
2. A 7 % across the board salary increase in the first year of the agreement and CPI plus 1% for the remainder of the agreement.
3. A 9.5% employer contribution towards pension fund with the employees contributing 6%
4. Guaranteed Blue and Green Drop bonus of R 2 500 (supervisors) R 1 500 (process controllers, shift assistants, lab assistants belt operators) and R1 100 (general assistants, handy men and assistant artisans)
5. A guaranteed long service bonus of R 2 000 (10 years), R 3 000 (15 years), R 4 000 plus 5 additional leave days (20 years), R 5 000 plus an additional 5 leave days (25 years) and R 6 000 and R 7 000 for 30 and 35 years of service respectively.
Negotiations are continuing in other Water Boards, we trust that they too will be concluded as soon as possible.
We are also in the process of concluding and consolidating our members’ feedback on the facilitators’ proposal in relation to the negotiations with SALGA. Outcomes of this process will be communicated soon.
We further trust that SALGA will learn from the Water Boards who completed the negotiations timeously without the need to go for conciliation.
Issued by SAMWU Head Office
South Africa
COSATU Statement on the Commission for Employment Equity Report
Babsy Nhlapo, COSATU National Skills Development Coordinator, 23 July 2015
The Congress of South African Trade Unions as noted the release of the 2014 Employment Equity Report.
The Report vindicates the views that the top echelons of industry (especially private sector) is motivated by apartheid and greed.
This therefore puts to question the 1996 project call on the private public partnership in Gear.
Such a call has been carried through the National Development Plan [NDP] and yet in reality this call is just motivated by greed and a call by the private sector to plunder public funds and its resources.
Whilst many of the private sector companies have called for the rollout of the public infrastructure projects en masse such a call is not even linked to transformation of the top echelons of the same companies
According to the Report “Whites are the most preferred in the private sector, followed by Indians and then African Males.”
It continues to argue that “African and Coloured females continue to bear the brunt of low skilled jobs and hence confined to the lower occupational levels”. In this the report is pointing to the racial and patriarchal nature of corporate South Africa.
Whilst statistics from Statistic South Africa points out that women have a more than 50% representation in the population but in the Economically Active Population women have only risen to be 32%.
The other key issue of highlight in the report is that People with Disabilities have in the total EAP not reached the required 3%. What is even more shocking is the fact that foreign nationals are more preferred in many companies than Coloured people.
This trend is even more prevalent in the Western Cape where the current day implementers of apartheid colonialism in the form of the DA. COSATU is not shocked as the DA brand of liberalism is no different from apartheid but in many forms even more hostile to the Coloured working people of the Western Cape.
COSATU has argued that the pace of labour market transformation in our country has not kept in line with the political framework.
The 2014 Report does not provide a complete movement from that view and we cannot be accused therefore of being racist for raising such points.
However, what is even more striking is the statistics of the non submission of the Employment Equity Reports.
The launch indicated that the Department of Labour and the Commission for Employment Equity will be legally pursuing cases against the more than 1000 companies that have not submitted their reports.
We are in full support of the court cases that will be pursued. We will be joining the DoL and the CEE as their friends in the cases.
COSATU, however wants to put it clear that the non submission of the reports has a direct connection with the poor DoL Inspectorate Services.
We await the list to be submitted as to who are these more than 1000 companies and we urge the Department of Trade and Industry to blacklist such companies and not give them any work. Such companies should be scrapped from the Supplier Databases and be disqualified for a particular period from trading with the public sector
South African companies have had a very long Seventeen (17) since the promulgation of the EEA to see transformation as a core business imperative.
The largely private sector companies have not come to the party. Now is the time that such companies should be named and shamed
Issued by COSATU
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‘Forward with people centred-development”-COSATU Limpopo congratulates the newly elected SANCO Limpopo PEC
Gerald Mkhomazi Twala, COSATU Provincial Secretary, 23 July 2015
The Congress of South African Trade Unions in Limpopo wishes to congratulate the newly elected South African National Civic Organization (SANCO) Limpopo Provincial Executive Committee (PEC).
As a broad, mass-based organization which demonstrated its greatest strength through popular mobilization against the apartheid state, the South African National Civic Organization (SANCO) faced dramatic challenges since 1994.
Despite these many challenges SANCO continued to maintain a significant presence as a national body and the only civic movement in our country.
As COSATU, we believe that SANCO must continue to live up to its aim to organize and mobilize South Africans in defense of ‘people-centred, people-driven’ development.
The working class needs a strong a vibrant civic movement to fight for pro-poor developmental policies in our country, to fight corruption and privatization and to fight for the provision of quality services in our communities.
We therefore commit to work hand in glove with SANCO to realize these objectives.
After many months of a programme to launch its branches and regions, SANCO was able to convene its Provincial Congress on the 18th July 2015 at Jack Botes Hall, in Polokwane with the following officials elected with the entire PEC:
Ø Masekoameng Messina- Provincial Chairperson
Ø Mphelane Judy- Deputy Provincial Chairperson
Ø Theo Makola- Provincial Secretary
Ø Lina Seanego- Deputy Provincial Secretary
Ø Progress Kutama- Provincial Treasurer
Ø David Sekgobela- Provincial Organizer
Issued by COSATU Limpopo
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COSATU welcomes consultations on UNFCCC 2015
Khwezi Mabasa, Social Development Policy Co-ordinator, 23 July 2015
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was established in 1992.
It has been ratified by 194 countries that recognize the necessity of constructing a sustainable developmental path. States meet every year to formulate international regimes that should govern this transition.
These gatherings are popularly referred to as COPs (Conferences of the Parties).
The most recent COP (20) was hosted by PERU in December 2014, and the next one will be held in France later on this year.
This year’s COP is very significant because states have to submit their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC). These are documented commitments from all states outlining their plans on reducing global emissions.
The Department of Environmental of Affairs has issued a notice inviting all citizens to various INDC consultation sessions. These will take place in all nine provinces and are open to the public.
The main aim of these meetings is to provide citizens with an opportunity to make inputs on government’s negotiating position for this year’s COP.
We welcome this new approach to climate change and environment policy development.
COSATU has always advocated for inclusive decision-making and genuine grassroots participation in public policy formulation.
The federation will participate in these sessions and raise the following critical issues.
First, the importance of fairness in negotiations, which places primacy on the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities”.
Developed countries are accountable for most of the global emissions. Thus, they must provide resources (financial & technological) for both adaptation and mitigation in the less developed nations.
These highly industrialized states should also commit to higher levels of emission reductions.
Second, we have always argued that the global accord must be ambitious. It must support the goal of confining the global temperature increase to 1.5 ˚C by 2100. The Africa group supports this range because climate change has more adverse consequences in less developed regions.
Thirdly, this agreement must be legally binding and backed up by clear sanctions or penalties for transgression.
Lastly, the development of a low-carbon political economy must be based on the principle of a just transition. According to us, a “just transition addresses both the unemployment crisis and the ecological crisis.
We also have to ensure that the development of new green industries does not become an excuse for lowering wages and social benefits”.
It also means transforming the patterns of production, investment, consumption and ownership in the political economy.
Capitalism is the primary cause of climate change; therefore, one cannot address this global challenge without constructing a new developmental model.
COSATU’s structures will participate in these various consultative sessions.
Issued by COSATU
The details and contact numbers are as follows:
No | Province and centre | Date | Contact person |
1. | Eastern Cape – Port Elizabeth | 28 July 2015 | Lyndon Mardon |
2. | Free State - Bloemfontein Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs | 19 / 20 August 2015 | Monde Walaza |
3. | Gauteng | Fourth week of (24 - 28) August 2015 | Rina Taviv |
4. | KwaZulu-Natal – Durban Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs | 6, 13, and 27 August 2015 | Timothy Fasheun |
5. | Limpopo - Polokwane | 20 August 2015 | Trevor Mphahlele |
6. | Mpumalanga - Nelspruit Department of Agriculture, Rural, Land and Environmental Affairs | 14 August 2015 | Dudu Sibiya |
7. | Northern Cape - Kimberly | 28 July 2015 | Bryan Fisher |
8. | North West - Rusternburg Department of Rural, Environmental and Agricultural Development | 1 or 3 September 2015 | Tharina Boshoff |
9. | Western Cape – Stellenbosch Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning | 29 July 2015 | Gooisan Issacs |
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International
SADTU General Secretary elected EI Vice President
Nomusa Cembi, SADTU Media Officer, 23 July 2015
SADTU wishes to congratulate its General Secretary Cde Mugwena Maluleke for being unanimously elected as the Vice President for Education International during its 7th World Congress in Ottawa, Canada.
EI is a global teachers and education workers’ union federation representing over 30 million teachers and education workers from 172 countries with 401 union members.
The unanimous election of our General Secretary is an indication of the confidence that teachers around the world have not only in his leadership as an individual but in SADTU as an organisation.
This is recognition of our hard work and dedication towards quality public education here at home and abroad.
This international milestone flies in the face of the prophets of doom who have been at pains to suggest that SADTU is now a shadow of its former self particularly under its current leadership. Notably, some of these prophets are expelled former leaders of SADTU who have been hard at work to establish an alternative union from within our own ranks.
We want to advice them that it actually takes hard work, dedication and selflessness to build a reputable organisation that can be recognized the world over and not just a burning desire to be in a leadership position and to use that to live an affluent life style.
We are confident that our General Secretary will succeed in his new role and will continue to act as the unifying glue for teachers across the world.
With him being part of the leadership collective, we expect Education International to wage a relentless war against the emerging scourge of privatization of education around the world amongst others.
We expect EI to continue to fight for quality public education for all through the improvement of the conditions of service of teachers and increased public spending on education.
As SADTU, we will continue to play our role and provide EI with the maximum support that it requires to implement its resolutions.
Workers of the world unite for you have nothing but shackles to free yourselves from!
Issued By: SADTU Secretariat
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Youth Employment in Eastern and Southern Africa
ILO, 22 Jul 2015
A Knowledge Sharing Forum to showcase innovative work, challenges and opportunities for youth employment policies in Comoros, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
ADDIS ABABA/HARARE (ILO News) – The three-day Eastern and Southern Africa Youth Employment Knowledge Sharing Forum adopted key youth employment policy recommendations with a focus on better job creation, youth participation and strategic partnerships impacting lives.
Organized by the ILO Harare office in Zimbabwe, the Forum engaged creative young men and women, representatives of the government, workers’ and employers’ organisations, the UN System, development partners, academia, and civil society on key employment strategies, entrepreneurship development, and access to finance for young entrepreneurs.
One of the top priorities of the Forum attended by Mrs Priscah Mupfumira, the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare was to discuss and disseminate innovative approaches and good practices on skills development and measuring the impact of Youth Employment Initiatives.
This knowledge sharing forum is expected to help in developing a roadmap for integrating the labour market trends to address the need for creating productive and decent employment particularly for young women and men.
Youth unemployment in Africa is characterized by a youth population much higher than most other regions worldwide, weak national labour markets and persistently high levels of poverty.
Youth unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa is twice that of adults (12.8 for youth and 6.5 for adults) but unemployment is only the tip of the iceberg. African youth are more likely to be underemployed and among the working poor than the general population.
Announcements
Enabling COSATU Members to Tweet Effectively
NB: @cosatu2015 has been revamped and now it’s @COSATU2015_
Introduction to COSATU Official Twitter Accounts
Ø @COSATU2015_
Official tweets on current affairs, ideological disposition and for a Question & Answer platform
Ø @COSATU TODAY @_cosatu
Seconds- COSATU roving official tweets on events, quotable sound-bites on speeches/interviews, newsflash etc.
How to Register a COSATU Member Twitter Account
Ø Go Google and type twitter/sign up
Ø Versions of name/surname must be completed
Ø Choose a username/password and don’t forget them
Ø Update your profile; picture, bio
o Picture size should be 700k
o Bio-short narrative who you are
Ø Examples of Bio; Africa's largest Federation Official tweets, the home of the toiling classes across the world, with more than 2million membership...Amandla! Johannesburg, South Africa · http://www.cosatu.org.za
Ø Choose who to follow and type @COSATU2015_ and @COSATU TODAY @_cosatu
Ø And you’re skinning in the game through COSATU tweets
Communicating messages that matter is like artwork
Social Media generation is here and is unavoidable
‘Let’s skin in the game of COSATU Tweets’
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Ntai Norman Mampane (Acting National Spokesperson)
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 or Direct: +27 10 219-1348
Mobile: +27 72 416 3790
Twitter: @_cosatu / @COSATU2015_
Web: www.cosatu.org.za
‘The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles’-The Communist Manifesto
