COSATU Today, 18 June 2013
Norman Mampane
COSATU Today
Our side of the story
Tuesday 18 June 2013
‘Strengthen COSATU for total emancipation’
Contents
Workers’ Parliament
Ø NUM marches to Minopex in Woodmead
Ø SACTWU settles footwear wage dispute
Ø Enabling COSATU Members to Tweet Effectively
South Africa
Ø NUMSA calls for the immediate suspension of Sizwe Medical Fund’s Curator
Ø ANC welcomes Power FM and developments on INMSA sale
Ø DA racism
Ø Youth Day
Ø Bersig High School practises racism
International
Ø African Union calls for more investment to promote jobs in Africa
Ø ILO, Geneva: Key – note speech by the General Secretary at the Informal Presidential Council Meeting
Ø General Strike in Turkey against Government’s continuous brutal violence
Ø Turkish Unions Launch Strike as Government Intensifies Repression
Ø Secretary-General’s Message on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day – 15 June 2013
Ø The ETUC joins Turkish trade union calls for an end to violence
Ø Turkish unions launch general strike as government repression intensifies
Ø Cypriot teachers fight for human rights and democracy
Ø 19 June : European Day of Action - No Austerity, Yes Tax Justice !
Ø Portugal: Teachers hold anti-cuts demo in Lisbon
Ø Portugal: Teachers hold anti-cuts demo in Lisbon
Ø UN high level-discussion: indicators and involvement, key to quality education
Ø Specialists discuss new visions for union communications
Ø Protest action of postal workers in Tunisia
Announcements
Ø New Edition of South African Labour Bulletin coming!
Ø Education Trust Public Debate Invitation: Topic: The State of our Education System
Ø WWMP to run Media Training Courses for Trade Union media persons
Ø Media Invitation to NEHAWU 10th National Congress
Ø COSATU skinning in the game of social media-Enabling the trade union movement to nurture a communicative platform
Ø Follow Fred van Leeuwen on Twitter!-EI GS
Ø Follow ITUC Secretary General-Sharan Burrow
Workers’ Parliament!
NUM marches to Minopex in Woodmead
Lesiba Seshoka, NUM National Spokesperson, 18 June 2013
Thousands of members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) today marched to Minopex head quarters in Sunninghill.
The workers gathered in an open space at the corner of Witkoppen and Nanyuki streets in Woodmead at around 12h00.
The workers delivered a memorandum to the management and leadership of Minopex detailing their grievances which includes amongst others the following:
- salary discrepancies that prevail in the company
- the disbandment of the workplace forum
-that the NUM must be recognized according to regions
- that the company should stop unilateral change in conditions of service.
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SACTWU settles footwear wage dispute
Nazier Armoed, SACTWU’s National Footwear Sector Co-ordinator, 18 June 2013
The Southern African Clothing & Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) has settled its wage dispute with footwear sector employers. The Union declared the dispute in late May 2013.
The dispute was successfully conciliated on 13 June 2013, under the auspices of the National Bargaining Council for the Leather Manufacturing Industry.
A settlement was reached with the footwear employers, represented by the Southern African Footwear and Leather Industries Association (SAFLIA). It provides for a 7.75% wage increase with effect from 1 July this year.
The settlement agreement was signed in Durban on 13th June 2013.
The settlement covers 182 footwear companies nationally, employing approximately 9600 footwear workers.
The agreement will now be submitted to the Minister of Labour, for gazettal and extension to all non-party companies.
Issued by
SACTWU
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Enabling COSATU Members to Tweet Effectively
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’
South Africa
NUMSA calls for the immediate suspension of Sizwe Medical Fund’s Curator
Castro Ngobese, NUMSA National Spokesperson, 18 June 2013
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), call for the immediate suspension of the curator of Sizwe Medical Fund.
We strongly believe that there are strong grounds for suspension of the curator Dr Ngubekhaya Gobinca, given the damning dossier at our disposal pertaining to the litany of unlawful transgressions and maladministration within the Fund.
The following are the curator’s three major transgressions:
1. The Curator has become a self-appointed executive and found it necessary to make wide and far reaching changes to the constitutional structures, contracts and benefits of the fund without consultation with the members. The Curator has chosen to implement these forced changes on the members without following the rules of the scheme and thus the Medical Schemes Act. It is unlawful to implement any changes or to attend then registration of benefits and contributions without giving the members of the scheme 30 days’ notice. The curator showed disregard for this rule both for the 2013 rule changes and then the irregular changes of the 8th of May. In these new rule amendments, the Curator attempted to cover over his previous mistakes and make constitutional changes which might have dire consequences on the future governance and running of the fund.
This was in contravention of Rule 33.3, which states the following:
“Members must be furnished with a copy of all such amendments within 4 months after registration thereof. Should a member’s rights, obligations, contributions or benefits be amended, he/she shall be given 30 days advance notice of such change.”
2. He effected an average increase in members’ contributions of more than CPIX plus 3%, without seeking members’ approval through a general meeting or special general meeting or by ballot as contemplated in Rule 33.2. For the record, the average CPIX for 2012 was 5.6%. The Curator’s average increase of 10.82% is way above 8.6% (CPIX plus 3%).
According to Rule 33.2, "no amendment, rescission or addition which affects the object of the SCHEME or which increases the rate of contribution by more than CPIX plus 3% or decreases the extent of benefits of any particular benefit option by more than 20% of any financial year, is valid unless it has been approved by a majority of members present in a general meet or special meeting or by ballot."
3. He implemented and enforced a 30% co-payment for voluntary use of a non DSP (Designated Service Provider), without first having registered the Rule. This clearly transgresses Rule 33.5 and Section 32 of the Medical Schemes Act no 131 of 1998.
According to Rule 33.5; “No amendment, rescission or addition of any rule shall be valid unless it has been approved and registered by the Registrar.”
Furthermore, According to Section 32 of the Medical Schemes Act no 131 of 1998, “ Binding force of rules - The rules of a medical scheme and any amendment thereof shall be binding on the medical scheme concerned, its members, officers and on any person who claims any benefit under the rules or whose claim is derived from a person so claiming. ”
“We are calling on the Registrar of Council of Medical Schemes (CMS) to act swiftly by suspending the curator before the wheels go off the rails. There is prima facie evidence against the curator, and an internal process must unfold to investigate these allegations in the interest of our members”, says Numsa National Treasurer Mphumzi Maqungo.
“We do not want to run a public trial against the curator, because this might lead to temptations of dealing with the merits and demerits of the allegations.
We do not want to compromise the internal process that needs to be expedited by Council of Medical Schemes, says Maqungo.
The Curator, Gobinca, has undermined the owners of the Scheme by changing rules without following due processes and has since misled the Sizwe members by presenting unfounded reasons why he will not be holding elections to appoint a new board of trustees.
The Curator in his notice calling for the AGM attests that he was not able to call for elections due to the fact that the previous litigation by the previous board of trustees was still in process.
This is blatantly untrue and the Curator in one of his own previous internal communications stated clearly that the trustees had lost their leave to appeal and the window for their appeal has closed.
With this matter now serving as no hindrance to holding legitimate trustee elections to appoint a board for the scheme we demand a new legitimate board of trustees be put in place.
We call on the Registrar to intervene, investigate all allegations and to ensure that the upcoming AGM, which is scheduled for 28th June 2013 to be postponed and call an elective special general meeting within two months.
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ANC welcomes Power FM and developments on INMSA sale
Jackson Mthembu, ANC National Spokesperson, 18 June 2013
The African National Congress congratulates Power FM on its launch today, 18th June 2013. Indeed the ANC welcomes the multiplicity and diversity of views within the media environment and we wish the new station all the best in their quest to educate, enlighten and entertain audiences in line with their stated objective to be the most credible and trusted commercial radio station in South Africa.
We are particularly pleased that the station is proudly black owned in line with our country`s commitment to tangible transformation of the media, particularly at an ownership level.
It is on this basis of ensuring the emergence of new voices within South African media that the African National Congress further welcomes the approval of the purchase of Independent News and Media SA (INMSA) by the Sekunjalo Consortium.
We trust that the unprecedented attack we had seen on the consortium, by particularly SANEF, was not in any way an attempt to protect an old order or to entrench old views in our developing nation and that the media community will also welcome and embrace this significant milestone in our collective quest to transform and extend the media landscape.
We trust too that in the future many more of our South African stories will be told from a progressive South African viewpoint that first and foremost seeks to build a common nationhood, united in diversity
Issued by
Jackson Mthembu
National Spokesperson
African National Congress
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DA racism
Jackson Mthembu, ANC National Spokesperson, 18 June 2013
The African National Congress applauds the work done by our comrades in Parliament, most notably ANC MP Comrade Buti Manamela for exposing the racist and unrepentant Democratic Alliance councillor in the Eastern Cape, one Stanford Slabbert.
The attitude and arrogance displayed by Slabbert against black people is characteristic of the DA and had it not have been exposed by the ANC during the Presidency’s Budget Vote debate last week, it like many others would have gone unnoticed, unpunished and acceptable within the DA.
The DA continues to treat black people like second-class citizens as demonstrated time and again in Cape Town and in Midvaal. They have even stooped to the level of insulting and indeed undermining their intellectual capacity through their ineffectual attempts to rewrite history.
The hypocrisy of the DA knows no bounds as demonstrated by the treatment of farm workers in the Western Cape.
The ANC calls upon all South Africans to emulate this fearless spirit, ensuring wherever the DA continues to its attempt to undermine and insult our people, they are exposed for the fraud they are and their unwillingness to accept equality with blacks in general and Africans in particular in pursuit of a common nationhood. The only difference between Slabbert and all other racist leaders of the DA is that he was found out.
Issued by
Jackson Mthembu
National Spokesperson
African National Congress
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Youth Day
Jackson Mthembu, ANC National Spokesperson, 15 June 2013
On the 16th June, the African National Congress together with South Africans across the length and breadth of our country will commemorate the 37th anniversary of the June 16 Soweto uprisings in 1976.
The gallant fighting spirit of young people on that day, will forever remain a reminder of the determination, courage and unrelenting stance taken by young people to forever change the course of the struggle of African people in South Africa.
We are forever indebted to many generations of young people who during the darkest times of our history have never faltered nor failed to be counted in the quest to liberate their country from the tyranny of apartheid.
While the annals of history will hold a long and prestige roll call of many young people who paid the highest price, we remember amongst many others the generation of the 1940s which included Comrades Walter Sisulu, Anton Lembede, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and many others who were midwives to our glorious youth wing, the African National Congress Youth League.
An organisation established out of discipline, militancy and radicalism to be a critical body of opinion within the African National Congress with a mandate to champion youth interests within the ANC and society and to rally the youth behind the vision of the ANC.
As we remember the sacrifices of Tsietsi Mashinini, Hector Pietersen and countless other young people during the ages, the African National Congress celebrates the strides that have been made by the ANC government in advancing youth development and emancipation in the almost 20 years of democratic governance. Chief amongst these have been the fundamental shift and transformation in the country`s education policy framework which has seen the establishment of a single education system, consolidating the more than 15 separate education and development policy which were meant to divide and forever subjugate the African child in the land of his/her birth.
We have also developed and implemented, across the board, policies which are unambiguously pro-poor to lift our people from the indignity and despair of poverty and unemployment. Amongst these has been the building of more than 3 million houses which have changed the lives of more than 15 million people and the introduction and expansion of the social wage through social grants to more than 16 million South Africans.
The ANC government has recently signed the Youth Employment Accord which commits all social partners to dealing decisively with the intolerable and unsustainable youth unemployment rate.
As a result of this process, we saw the committing of R1billion rand by the Industrial Development Corporation and SEFA to youth owned enterprises and youth empowerment.
The democratic breakthrough of 1994 provided an opportunity for the African National Congress to implement policy that sought to build a South African nation united in diversity and this we have done unflinchingly and unrelentingly, led by ANC policies implemented by the first democratic President Comrade Nelson Mandela.
We once take this opportunity to wish Madiba well whilst he is in hospital and call upon South Africans, young and old, to continue to keep him in their thoughts and prayers.Young people and indeed South Africans in general enjoy political freedoms that before were inconceivable in South Africa.
Young people, the future of our country, are free to belong to a trade union, political party or any other organised formation of their choice.
The freedoms that were envisaged in the Freedom Charter and concretised in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa demand that young people, in their numbers, continue to accelerate and expand on these.
While much has been achieved, there still remains much more to be done.
The struggle for economic emancipation and economic freedom in this lifetime is undoubtedly the struggle that this generation of young people must commit their collective energies to. It is young people that must drive the charge within the African National Congress and society in general to achieve a society based on universal human rights, equality and prosperity.
It is through working with the African National Congress, as did many generations before this one, that these freedoms and liberties will be accelerated, defended and expanded to create a better life for all.
Issued by
Jackson Mthembu
National Spokesperson
African National Congress
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Bersig High School practises racism
Solly Phetoe, COSATU North West Provincial Secretary, 18 June 2013
The Congress of South African trade Unions in the North West province has learned with disappointment that there is racism at Bersig High School in Rustenburg.
According to a report in the Daily Sun of 7 June 2013 a black boy was racially attack for using the Afrikaans toilet.
What is disappointing is the response from the Department of Education, which says that the learners who did this act will not write the examination, but it is not saying anything about the management of the school, which in the view of COSATU are the one who are practising this acts of racism.
It cannot be correct that 19 years in democracy school facilities are divided between Afrikaans and English. What is worse it is the toilets which are divided between those categories and we are expected to accept an explanation that the school have only started to accommodate the English classes and they are in a process of building facilities for the English learners.
The question that COSATU ask is why can’t the learners share the facilities while the process of building new facilities is underway?
COSATU calls for immediate intervention by the Department of Education and for the immediate suspension of the management of the school as they are the perpetrators of racism in the school, as they have divided the facilities on a racial basis.
COSATU also calls for the Human Rights Commission to visit the school and investigate what is been reported about it.
COSATU rejects the explanation given by the Department of Education which cannot be accepted in this time of our democracy.
We are calling the HRC to act in all schools including the Christian School for the Blind, where poor blind learners are being exploited on a daily basis and politicians continue to respond politically with no action against anyone.
Racism continues in particular in farms schools and schools, in particular in Klerksdorp, Rustenburg and Mmumsa.
International
African Union calls for more investment to promote jobs in Africa
ILO, 17 June 2013
Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the first woman to head the African Union Commission, urged African Member States and international partners to invest more in order to promote job creation in the region.
The Chairperson of the African UnionCommission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has called for more investment to promote job creation, achieve inclusive growth and eradicate poverty in a continent which in the next fifty years will be home to 1.1 billion workers – more than a third of the global workforce.
“We are determined to step up our efforts to promote job creation, work for the eradication of poverty, achieve growth and allow equitable distribution, particularly for women and the youth,” said Zuma in her first address to the International Labour Conference.
Africa has managed to resist well to internal and external shocks and is expected to grow by 4.8 per cent in 2013 and 5.3 per cent in 2014. But according to Zuma, there are significant challenges ahead.
“By all estimates, our continent is a continent of young people, and it is getting younger. By 2025, it is estimated that the African youth will make up one-quarter of the world’s population. By 2040, half of the world’s youth population will be African, the majority of which will be women and girls. This means that in the next fifty years, approximately 1.1 billion of the global workforce will be African,” she said, calling for more investments in African agriculture, infrastructure, small and medium enterprises, sea transportation, energy, information and communications technology, and tourism.
ILO Director-General Guy Ryder welcomed Zuma to the ILC and said: “Africa is rising. It is also encouraging to see African economies growing and African countries bringing down poverty levels and progressing on the decent work agenda. Yet, jobless growth is a challenge to the continent.”
Ryder said the ILO is committed to continue to work hand in hand with the African Union and its African social partners to make decent work for all a reality in the continent.
Investing in African youth
Zuma said that investing in Africa’s youth is a big part of meeting the challenges facing the region.
“It is imperative that we invest in our people’s health nutrition and education and have them acquire the skills that will enable them to become productive members of our society,” she said, adding that “to be properly employed, the youth must be employable.”
The Chairperson of the AUC mentioned a joint initiative developed by the AU Commission, the African Development Bank, the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the ILO aimed at promoting youth employment in the continent.
If we properly invest in youth and women, they can become a great asset to drive Africa’s social, economic and cultural development." |
“If we properly invest in youth and women, they can become a great asset to drive Africa’s social, economic and cultural development, failing which they can be a serious liability,” she said.
She also referred to the large number of African workers who are part of the informal economy.
“We invite our international partners – in particular the ILO – to join hands with us in our efforts to raise the productivity and income of this category of workers, and to create the conditions favourable to their gradual participation into the mainstream economy,” she said.
“The African Union is committed for the next 50 years – and beyond – to modernize Africa, industrialize, continue to transform our economies so as ensure social services, as well as decent work and decent remuneration for all African workers, regardless of their sector of activities,” she concluded.
Zuma is expected to attend the G8 Summit which began on 17 June in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, where she will talk about intra-African and international trade.
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ILO, Geneva: Key – note speech by the General Secretary at the Informal Presidential Council Meeting
WFTU, 17 June 2013
Dear colleagues,
RICH ACTION OF THE WFTU
It is with great pleasure that we hold the WFTU Informal Presidential Council and Council of Friends formed by WFTU cadres and friends who are present these days in Geneva for the ILC. It’s been 3 months since when the WFTU Presidential Meeting held its annual meeting in Lima, Peru.
Since the beginning of this year the WFTU has done progress in implementing the objectives decided by our Presidential Council by having a rich activity and presence all over the world.
The WFTU was present in important trade union events and congresses in all continents, while at the same time WFTU and its affiliates and friends all over the world were having rich action. Dozens of iniciatives and activities in every corner of the world. In many countries. In many sectors. We remind you some of these activities.
For May Day 2013 the WFTU set the slogan “Chicago showed us the way”, demanding that the 8 hours of work be respected all over the world. Affiliates and friends of the WFTU in 90 countries of the world participated and organized marches, demonstrations and strikes.
These days, here in Geneva, during the 102 ILC, the WFTU has organized important activities and meetings: Meeting on Work Health and Safety, meeting on Multinational Corporations. As you probably know, there are two more events to go, the WFTU meeting on Collective Bargaining and the meeting on the role of the IMF and the World Bank. Through these activities we receive great feedback. We value the opinion of the participants. We’ll try to materialize the proposal made during the “Work Health and Safety” meeting to build a specialized WFTU website on the subject of Health and Safety and the proposals of the WFTU.
Two successful Regional Meetings were held: the 2nd Pan-African Meeting held in Khartoum – Sudan and the Regional Meeting of Latin America and the Caribbean held in Havana, Cuba. The WFTU also held an international conference on Economic Immigrants in Brussels, Belgium on 13-14 May 2013.
Ten days ago, in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, the WFTU along with its friends and affiliates organized important activities in order to defend the life and health of the workers that lose their lives because of the squalid conditions.
On June 3rd the WFTU Secretariat hosted in Athens, Greece, a meeting with our basic cadres in the transport sector from various countries (Portugal, India, Chile, Cyprus, Uruguay).
At the same period the WFTU welcomed to its Central Offices in Athens important foreign delegations. The most recent delegation that visited the Central Offices, was of the COSATU leadership, that held an important meeting with the WFTU Secretariat.
WE MUST ALL WORK ACTIVELY
Besides the rich action of the WFTU and its affiliates, there’s still a lot to be done this year. During the next months of the 2013 the WFTU plans to continue implementing its rich action plan for 2013.
1) International Action Day, October 3 under the slogan: “We march militantly on the streets and we demand food, water, education, medicine, housing for all”. We should continue with new forms, with open demonstrations. We should pay attention to the struggle against privatizations in the WATER sector, a crucial and very serious issue in many countries. The Secretariat of the WFTU will give a new notebook computer as a symbolic gift to the organization that will organize the best activity for October 3rd.
2) Meetings of WFTU Regional Offices in North America, Asia - Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.
3) Joint activity by the WFTU and ETUF, Egypt on the issue of Economic Migration. July 1st 2013 – Cairo, Egypt.
4) TUI Congresses and preparatory meetings:
• TUI Pensioners Preparatory meeting: July 09 2013 – Athens, Greece
• TUI Metal: October 24-25 2013 - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
• TUI Transport: Lisbon, Portugal
• TUI Public Services: Kathmandu, Nepal
5) International Conferences
i) July of 2013, South Africa: Meeting of the African Youth
ii) September 2013, Trade Union Forum of Beijing
iii) September 2013, Cyprus: Young workers camping
iv) October, Brussels, Belgium: International Meeting
v) Bahrain: International meeting on “The trade union movement in Southeast Asia”.
vi) Preparatory meeting for working women, with the objective to prepare the World Conference of Working Women in India.
vii) Regional Working Center of Larisa, Greece: Event about Food, products’ prices, cost of production, with the participation workers and farmers. Social alliance.
viii) Events of internationalist Solidarity
6) Establishment of new Regional Offices: This year, 2013 two new Regional Offices will be established A) In French Speaking Africa, with its seat in Gabon will open in October 2013 and B) great progress has been made regarding the Moscow office.
7) 2013 Trade Union Training – Seminars
a) WFTU Seminars
i) Uganda: Mass Media seminar
ii) Guyana : Hotel and Tourism
iii) Lao and Cambodia: English language / IT
iv) 21 June – 8 July, Congo: In headquarters, trade union formation seminar for 15 trade unionists from Congo on the basis of the Athens Pact.
v) Kazakhstan: The right to Trade Unionism, Trade Union Liberties, Collective Bargaining
vi) September 2013, Athens: In headquarters trade union seminar for Danish young trade unionists.
vii) Autumn 2013: Seminar about the impact of asbestos.
b) In cooperation with the ILO 2013
i) Bulgaria: Health and Safety for domestic workers
ii) Poland: Collective Bargaining
iii) September 6-7, 2013, Rwanda: Rural employment
iv) October 24-25 2013, Nigeria: Local development for poverty reduction. (In cooperation with OATUU)
v) December 9-10 2013, Spain: Youth unemployment
vi) Iraq: Safety and health at work
c) In cooperation with UNESCO
i) October 28 2013, Gabon: Africa: Education: “The key to the region’s development”.
ii) Uganda: Against illiteracy. Education for all the children. (in cooperation with FISE)
d) In cooperation with ACFTU China
September: WFTU Delegation of Latin American Young Trade Unionists
e) WFTU delegation visit to Central Africa
8 ) Finances – Fees Our financial situation is difficult. Until today, only 14 organizations-affiliates to the WFTU have paid their fees for 2013. Action requires financial strength. The bad financial situation of the WFTU generates difficulties for its action.
9) Preparation for the 70th anniversary of the WFTU in 2015. In 2015 we celebrate 70 years since the founding of the WFTU. We must prepare big events. We must honor the 70 years anniversary. Books and articles should be published, videos and every positive thing should be done for the anniversary. The Secretariat has already sent to all affiliates a letter requesting the affiliates’ contribution to a WFTU publication that will present Trade Union leaders who offered their lives in their countries for the interests of the working class. The titles of that publication will be “Our own heroes”.
10) 8th Presidential Council The next WFTU Presidential Council Meeting for 2014 will be held in Italy, hosted by our affiliate Unione Sindacale Di Base (USB) on February 14-15 2014.
You are all asked to take part in this rich plan of action!
George Mavrikos
General Secretary of the WFTU
June 15th 2013
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General Strike in Turkey against Government’s continuous brutal violence
Anita Gardner, IndustriALL Global Union Director of Communications, 17 June 2013
IndustriALL Global Union pledges its full support to the general strike called by five major trade union centers and professional organizations, DISK, KESK, TMMOB, TTB and TDB, taking place today, 17 June, denouncing the Government’s continuous brutal violence by police forces against peaceful demonstrations.
The peaceful demonstrations since 31 May in Istanbul and other Turkish cities continue to face excessive brutal violence by police forces. Coordinated by the group called “Taksim Solidarity” composed of 117 different constituents, including trade unions, the grass-root actions started with peaceful sit-ins to save the famous Gezi Park from being destroyed and turned into yet another shopping mall or so-called historical Artillery Barracks, or a city museum.
Under rampant pressure from civil society, the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with representatives of the platform several times, the last time being on Friday morning, and the spokesperson for the government stated that they would respect the final court decision which already suspended execution of the Municipality’s decision to construct a shopping mall in Gezi Park, and conduct a referendum if the final verdict would say otherwise. Following the meeting with the Prime Minister, Taksim Solidarity called on all constituents to meet at Gezi Park to discuss the meeting and decide on how to move forward. It was finally decided on Saturday, 15 June, that the struggle in the park will continue until the demands are met.
In the meantime, Prime Minister Erdogan gave an ultimatum to the demonstrators to evacuate Gezi Park within 24 hours; otherwise the government would do the necessary. On Saturday night, contrary to early announcements, police forces came to the park, blocking all roads to Taksim Square, and began to attack the crowd with water cannons and tear gas fired by tanks. They charged into the park which was shrouded under white clouds of gas. While the news spread out, people of Istanbul took to the streets, on both the Asian and the European sides of the city, and began to walk towards Taksim, in large groups that blocked highway traffic. Police continued to gas bomb enclosed spaces, such as hotels and field hospitals.
The excessive violence resulted in deaths and injuries of many people.
While 55 people have severe injuries, 91 are suffering from head trauma, and there are five people in critical condition in Ankara, Istanbul, and Eskisehir. Fifteen people have lost an eye, and one person had to have a spleen removal. According to the Association of Turkish Doctors, “a total of 7,478 people in 13 provinces have applied to public or private hospitals, medical centers, or makeshift clinics set-up close to conflict areas”.
Also concerning is that thousands of people have been taken into custody, and the whereabouts are unknown for many of demonstrators since police took them without giving any proper information. In all cities millions of people poured into the streets demanding the resignation of the government. The number of people to have joined this mobilization is estimated to be almost 10 million by the press but the figure may be higher. The Government halts any mobilization towards Gezi Park, and is labelling demonstrators as “marginal, illegal groups" and even “terrorists”.
On 16 June, five major trade union centers and professional organizations, DİSK (Confederations of Progressive Trade Unions), KESK (Public Employees Unions’ Confederation), TMMOB (Turkish Union of Chambers of Engineers and Architects), TTB (Turkish Association of Doctors) and TDB (Turkish Association of Dentists) decided to go on general strike to protest the government’s repressive attacks on peaceful demonstrations that clearly violate fundamental rights.
IndustriALL Global Union sent a letter of protest to the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and a letter of solidarity to the President of DİSK.
To Prime Minister Erdogan, Raina wrote:
It is with deep outrage that we have followed the violent crack-down by your government on peaceful protestors since 31 May. This brutally authoritarian reaction from your government has been broadcast all over the world and IndustriALL members everywhere are disgusted and increasingly concerned about the safety of their fellow workers in Turkey.
To the DISK General President, Raina wrote:
IndustriALL Global Union continues to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the grass-root mobilizations conducted by widely-attended civic society platform, including trade unions, since late May.
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Turkish Unions Launch Strike as Government Intensifies Repression
Zuzanna Muskat-Gorska, International Trade Union Confederation, 17 June 2013
Turkish national trade union centres DISK and KESK have launched a national strike today as the government of Prime Minister Erdogan steps up violent repression of demonstrations against his autocratic rule. Five people have died and some 7,500 injured as police have repeatedly attacked demonstrators with tear gas and vicious beatings. Turkey’s Interior Minister, Muammer Guler, has reportedly declared the strike “illegal”.
“Mr Erdogan seems only to want confrontation, instead of agreeing to dialogue to resolve the legitimate demands of trade unions, environmentalists and others who don’t accept his dictatorial behaviour. The path he is following seriously undermines Turkish democracy and will only deepen divisions. We call on him to stop the police violence against innocent people and show respect for the deep and genuine feelings of millions of Turkish people over the high-handed and aggressive way the government has been behaving,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.
Prime Minister Erdogan has blamed foreign media, “terrorists” and even social media for the wave of protests in Turkey. In a move guaranteed to inflame tensions, he has called mass rallies of his own supporters to denounce those protesting against his policies.
Organisations representing engineers, doctors and dentists have announced their intention to join the strike. Medical personnel treating demonstrators have been detained by police in recent days. Thousands of lawyers stopped work last week in protest at police detention of 60 of their colleagues.
“Turkey’s record on labour rights and other civil rights has been worsening for some time, and it has imprisoned more journalists than any other country in recent years. The government’s actions are deepening the divisions, and causing great harm to the very fabric of Turkey’s society and economy,” said Burrow.
To join the Labourstart campaign action on Turkey: http://www.labourstart.org/2013/country.php?country=Turkey&langcode=en
Video of police kicking detainee in the head:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201308689182667
Equal Times report from Taksim Square:
http://www.equaltimes.org/news/live-from-taksim-square
The ITUC represents 175 million workers in 156 countries and territories and has 315 national affiliates.
Follow us on the web: http://www.ituc-csi.org and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI
For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on: +32 2 224 02 04 or +32 476 621 018
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Secretary-General’s Message on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day – 15 June 2013
United Nations, 15 June 2013
New York - Around the world, older persons are tragically subject to psychological, financial or physical abuse.
Unfortunately, too many older persons can be at risk.
Prejudicial attitudes contribute to the problem. Today, let us re-examine our attitudes towards ageing and the status and role of older persons.
I urge Governments, civil society, and communities to raise awareness about this challenge. Governments, in particular, can help by enacting legislation to protect the abused and prosecute the abuser.
We owe it to older persons and societies at large to fight ageism in all its forms and enhance the dignity and human rights of older persons everywhere
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The ETUC joins Turkish trade union calls for an end to violence
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), 18 June 2013
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is deeply concerned at threats by the Turkish authorities “to repress” strikes and peaceful demonstrations called for by Turkish trade union organisations protesting at mass arrests and police violence against peaceful demonstrators in Istanbul.
Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary of the ETUC said: “The increasingly authoritarian response by the Turkish Government against people’s legitimate grievances is a cause for deep concern. Sending in the army can only make matters worse. Turkey has expressed its European vocation and is a member of the Council of Europe. It must act accordingly.”
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Turkish unions launch general strike as government repression intensifies
Teresa Marshall, PSI Communications Coordinator, 17 June 2013
PSI pledges its full support to the general strike called by five major trade union centres and professional organisations on 17 June 2013. PSI joins the ITUC and other global unions in calling on the Turkish government to immediately end police brutality, to respect these protests and trade union actions, and to enter into dialogue to address the legitimate concerns expressed.
PSI has nine Turkish public service affiliates representing municipal, public administration, social, health and construction workers. The general strike is jointly called by DİSK (Confederations of Progressive Trade Unions), KESK (Public Employees Unions’ Confederation), TMMOB (Turkish Union of Chambers of Engineers and Architects), TTB (Turkish Association of Doctors) and TDB (Turkish Association of Dentists).
Five people have died and some 7,500 people have reported injuries after police attacked demonstrators with tear gas and vicious beatings.
“Intimidation of trade union members and leaders, political and social repression, creating precarious jobs for millions – all this is a far cry from a democracy that generates growth in confidence and respect; instead such policies perpetuate gender and other inequalities,” says PSI General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli.
“We support our affiliates in their struggle for decent working conditions, collective bargaining and freedom of association in an increasingly complex environment.”
Police forces have responded with violent force to peaceful demonstrations in Istanbul and other Turkish cities since 31 May. Coordinated by the group called “Taksim Solidarity” composed of 117 different constituents, including trade unions, the grassroot actions started with peaceful sit-ins to save the famous Gezi Park from development into a commercial site.
According to the Association of Turkish Doctors, “a total of 7,478 people in 13 provinces have applied to public or private hospitals, medical centres, or makeshift clinics set-up close to conflict areas.”
Thousands of people have reportedly been taken into custody, and the whereabouts of many remain unknown. Across Turkey, millions of people have poured into the streets demanding the resignation of the government. The mobilization is estimated by the press to include almost 10 million people, but the figure may be much higher.
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Cypriot teachers fight for human rights and democracy
Teresa Marshall, PSI Communications Coordinator, 17 June 2013
PSI writes to the Minister of Education and Culture of Cyprus to express serious concern at the decision taken to dismiss around 2,500 employees who provide education in the evening and night schools of the Ministry.
According to our sources of information, the Ministry has decided to meet the specific programs’ needs through outsourcing and declaration for tenders. The consequences are catastrophic for the teachers, who now have to propose their services as self-employed workers and will not get any unemployment benefits during the period they are unemployed.
Attachments
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19 June : European Day of Action - No Austerity, Yes Tax Justice !
Teresa Marshall, PSI Communications Coordinator, 18 June 2013
As part of its campaign “ Europe’s missing € 1000 billion every year: we want it back” the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) coordinates a European tax justice week of actions 17-23 June to make the rich and transnational corporations pay their fair share of taxes.
In Brussels, on 19 June, EPSU and its Belgian affiliates will hold a meeting with Belgian State Secretary John Crombez charged with the fight against tax fraud. Mr Crombez will explain, 9h45 sharp, the role of Belgium in the fight against tax fraud and aggressive tax planning in Europe. Some 200 trade union delegates are expected (CGSP/ACOD; CSC- services publics/ACV-Openbare diensten; SLFP/VSOA)
Some advances have been made recently at EU level towards lifting bank secrecy and introduce automatic exchange of information between public authorities. But we need more concrete immediate actions as shocking tax scandals reported by the press and tax justice NGOs keep on pouring.
EPSU Deputy General Secretary Jan Willem Goudriaan, will show how EC-backed austerity facilitates tax fraud in Europe by axing 50 000 jobs in tax administrations, based on research evidence commissioned by EPSU.
Trade union delegates will then rally in front of the Brussels stock exchange for a media stunt to symbolize Europe’s massive robbery of our money which under-resourced tax administrations want to get back but cannot get back.
Actions led by trade unions are planned in other countries such as the UK, Austria, Germany, Cyprus - 1 hour work stoppage-, France and the Netherlands. Others will take place during the week 17-23 June to coincide with G8 summit and International Public Services Day on 23 June, see updates
The action seeks to feed into the popular appetite to eradicate tax havens, oblige multinationals to pay their fair share of taxes to finance public services we all need and stop political and corporate interference with investigating tax fraud cases.
Citizens ‘ legitimate anger at austerity for the majority and prosperity for the few will not be appeased by empty words. Citizens don’t mind paying fair taxes according to their means to finance good public services we all need, they do mind being cheated and having to pay for those who can afford to pay but don’t want to pay.
Meeting 9h30 - 11h00, CGSP/ACOD office, Place Fontainas 9-11, 1000 Brussels - Coffee from 9h00 11h15 - 12h15 March to La Bourse and media stunt - Media point will be at place de la Bourse
EPSU research Job cuts in tax administrations, in English and French
Attachments
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Portugal: Teachers hold anti-cuts demo in Lisbon
Education International, 17 June 2013
Thousands of Portuguese teachers held a protest against the government’s new policies for public schools on 15 June in Lisbon. This demonstration is part of the industrial action plan proposed by all teacher unions against the government’s decision to cut spending in the education sector.
This cut is being implemented by an increase in the working hours of teachers, laying off educators, and reducing compensation and allowances for dismissed teachers.
Call for strike
EI’s affiliate, Federação Nacional Dos Professores (FENPROF), has called for several days of strike in the final evaluation of students – a move which has had a support of nearly 100 per cent. It has also called for a general strike of all teachers and researchers on 17 June, the first day of secondary school national exams.
Unions united
At the end of the demonstration, FENPROF General-Secretary Mário Nogueira highlighted the fact that Portuguese teachers are united against the Government’s policy and called for a strong support of the national strike on 17 June: "All unions are united in this struggle. On Monday, Portuguese teachers are going to give an adequate response to the Government inflexibility.”
Being the toughest campaign ever mounted by Portuguese teachers, this has put education at the centre of public debate. This week, unions are going to carry out a survey in all schools to decide on the continuation of this fight.
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UN high level-discussion: indicators and involvement, key to quality education
Education International, 17 June 2013
Quality education is key to reducing the numbers of children who cannot read and write and those out of school. It is also vital for every individual’s potential to become a global citizen. That’s according to UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova, who was speaking at a high-level discussion organised by UNESCO and the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations (UN).
The discussion, “Moving from access to learning in the post-2015 dialogue: Why indicators matter and how we can use them well”, was held in support of the UN Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative (GEFI).
“We need to widen our focus from access to access and learning, I mean learning broadly, not just basic skills, but the competences every individual needs to become a global citizen,” said Bokova.
“To build the future we want, we must give every woman and man skills to escape poverty and unemployment, and to live lives of their choosing. Education is vital also for social mobility in some countries, it is crucial for justice and equity across the world.
“This is why, less than a 1,000 days before 2015, the deadline for Education for All, we must put education at the top of the political agenda. This is about individual human rights, but it is also about fostering sustainability and, fundamentally, it is about the health of our societies, about stability and, in some cases, even about security.”
Despite progress made, no Education for All by 2015
Even if tremendous progress has been made since 2000 in strengthening education systems, she mentioned, UNESCO’s 2012 Global Monitoring Report on education shows that 250 million children of primary school age cannot read, write or count well, whether they have been to school or not, she said.
New data from UNESCO reveals that 57 million children were out of school in 2012; as many as one in four children who went to school will leave early before reaching the last grade of primary school.
“We are not on track to achieve universal primary education by 2015,” Bokova said. “At the same time, for the first time since 2002, we see a drop in aid to basic education by seven per cent between 2010 and 2011.
“Figures tell us education systems have been failing children for years in some parts of the world. Instead of empowering, poor quality education has often reproduced and exacerbated social inequalities, even reinforcing discrimination.”
For UNESCO, this is a crisis, Bokova said, a crisis that jeopardises social cohesion, economic development and political stability, a crisis that undermines the transformational power of education. This is why access and quality must move together.
“It means training more and better teachers, key actors for quality. It means sharpening curricula to promote basic skills along with skills for life,” she insisted.
Need forspecific measurements
It means also monitoring progress in education quality, she noted. “We know indicators of quality and access can play a critical role in exposing weaknesses, in pointing to new directions for investment. Indicators can map trends and show policymakers how and where to proceed to monitor performance, to improve quality and to support teachers. This calls for sharp indicators, indicators that are holistic, that are tried and tested.”
This is the reason UNESCO has convened the learning metrics task force through the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the Brookings Institution, with whom it has embarked on an intensive global consultation.
This task force is exploring three questions:
· What learning is important globally?
· How should it be measured?
· How can measurement of learning improve education quality?
Bokova detailed areas to be measured throughout the school journey: literacy and communication, numeracy ad mathematics, but also other dimensions, such as social and emotional, culture and the arts, physical wellbeing, science and technology.
Need for teachers’ involvement
The President of the US National Education Association (NEA) and EI Vice-President, Dennis van Roekel, also highlighted the unions’ role in leading positive change towards quality education.
“One of the first things we know about system change is that if you want to change a system, you cannot do that without the involvement of the people in the system,” he said. “So as we work in our role as unions, we must also engage with people in all parts of that system if we are ever going to change and accomplish what we want for every single child in this world.”
On the role of the teachers, he noted that everyone seems to agree that once children are in the classroom, the influence of the teacher is huge.
Therefore it is important to look at the professionals, van Roekel stressed: who is recruited, how they are trained, and how they are brought into the profession so that they are ready to be there with students.
“We also believe that the union must play an absolutely incredible role in leading those changes,” said van Roekel. “It is not enough to point out things that are wrong or solutions you may not agree with or we believe do not work, we must also offer our own solutions about what we believe will change what is happening to kids.
“EI and its 400 member unions around the world are very much involved in support to the GEFI, because we realised that there is so much we must yet do for the 61 million primary school age children and the 71 million adolescents who are not in school, and the 775 million adults who remain illiterate, two-third of them being women.
“In 2011, EI at a World Congress adopted a resolution on building the future through quality education. We are now in the process of putting that into action all around the world; we are talking and working for the mobilisation for quality public education. We agree that, more than access, it is also about quality.”
Three international summits on the teaching profession have been held, said van Roekel, where education ministers and union leaders from the top performing countries according to the international assessment of PISA have met.
The aim of these events is to debate what can those involved in education do together to make a greater difference to students?
The involvement of teachers is an important issue for EI, van Roekel reiterated. “One of things about developing these indicators I want to make clear: teachers are not opposed to tests! We invented them! For 23 years, I never went a week without assessing whether my students were learning what I hoped they learned.”
Need for debating the purpose of indicators and align standards
But what is the purpose of those assessments or developing these indicators, van Roekel asked.
“In my classroom, when I gave a quiz over the first two or three sections in a chapter, I wanted to assess whether or not they understood the materials. If they didn’t, I had to find a new way of presenting them. So the involvement of teachers in the development of indicators is absolutely critical.”
It is important to align standards, and then develop an assessment tool actually measuring whether or not a student meets those standards.
The curriculum must be aligned, he said. “We have a situation where, in a high school in Seattle, Washington, the faculty said that they did not want to administer a test that was required by law. They said they did not want to administer that test because, number one, it was not aligned with the state’s standards and, number two, it was not aligned with the district-required curriculum. And their point was, we are in a professional dilemma: why would you ask me to take class time and administer tests to students - that makes no sense if it is not aligned with the standards or the curriculum.”
Van Roekel also called for a true partnership between teachers and education authorities to develop that alignment, and decide what to expect students to know and be able to do. “We must then develop an assessment tool and indicators that tell us whether or not a student has mastered that and, number three, we must develop curricula for educators in order to use to ensure that every student learns.
“The issue of equity is critical,” he acknowledged. “It is unfair to students when you hold them to different standards, some high, some low. Because if students held to very low standards believe they are ready for a career or college or a future, they are being cheated and lied to.”
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Richard Elliott, UNI global union, Director of Communications, 18 June 2013 |
More than 50 UNI affiliates participants from 20 countries gather in Malta, 18-20 to discuss new strategic visions for the union movement. Live streaming of the event is available online. | |
Valletta – Malta, 18 June 2013/ More than 50 participants from 20 countries are gathering in Malta to develop shared unions communications visions and strategies and how to reinvigorate quality media storytelling. The event is held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre Valletta, Malta from June 18-20. | |
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Richard Elliott, UNI global union, Director of Communications, 18 June 2013 |
| The postal workers in Tunisia decided to make unlimited sit-in in the front of the Headquarter of the Ministry of Information Technology since 17 June 2013. |
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Announcements
New Edition of South African Labour Bulletin coming!
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Education Trust Public Debate Invitation: Topic: The State of our Education System
Join us in discussion as Nick Taylor presents the findings of the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit’s Report on the state of literacy teaching and learning in the Foundation Phase
Dear Guest,
The University of Johannesburg, Kagiso Trust and the City Press cordially invite you to the Education Conversations 6th Series event.
Date:
Tuesday 2 July 2013
Time:
07h00 for 07h30 (morning)
Guest Speaker: Nick Taylor, CEO of the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU)
Venue:
University of Johannesburg,
School of Tourism and Hospitality - Protea Auditorium,
Bunting Road, Auckland Park,
Johannesburg
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WWMP to run Media Training Courses for Trade Union media persons
Martin Jansen, Director/Editor, Workers’ World Media Productions, 18 June 2013
Dear Comrades
You are hereby invited to apply to the WWMP Media Training course taking place at our training facility in Braamfontein, Johannesburg during 16 – 20 September 2013.
The course is aimed at full-time trade union media officers, including office-bearers who need to deepen and broaden their knowledge of the media landscape as well as sharpen their skills in areas of your work such as press releases, radio and TV interviews etc.
It is a relatively advanced course that will draw upon experienced media educators and personalities in the field to put you through your paces such Siki Mgabadeli and Jeremy Maggs.
Please find attached our training brochure detailing more about the course and the cost as well as the application form for you to complete and send to us once you’ve gotten the consent from your union for attendance and payment at www.wwmp.org.za
Please note that only 20 participants will be allowed on the course and you are advised to apply soonest.
Yours in labour education.
Martin Jansen
Director/Editor
Workers’ World Media Productions
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Media Invitation to NEHAWU 10th National Congress
Sizwe Pamla, NEHAWU Media Liaison Officer, 18 June 2013
The NATIONAL EDUCATION, HEALTH AND ALLIED WORKER’S UNION {NEHAWU} will be holding its 10th National Congress from the 26th -29th June 2013, at Birchwood Hotel ,Benoni ,Gauteng under the theme:”BUILD STRONG WORKPLACE ORGANISATION,CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS AND INTERNATIONALISM”.
The National Congress is the highest decision making body of the union that has the powers to adopt new resolutions and elect new National Office Bearers{NOB}.
Delegates from all structures of the union will attend and assess the progress that has been made by the union in implementing its resolutions since the last congress that was held in 2010.
The congress will also pass the new resolutions and map the way forward for the next three years.
The gathering will be addressed by the tripartite alliance leaders{ ANC,SACP and COSATU} and other international fraternal organisations.
The 10th National Congress is scheduled as follows:
Ø Date : 26-29 June 2013
Ø Venue : Birchwood Hotel {Gauteng}
Members of the media are invited to attend, cover and report on the congress. To confirm attendance, journalists are requested to send their responses to the National Spokesperson: siz...@nehawu.org.za
The following information should be included in the confirmation reply for accreditation and logistical purposes.
Ø NAME AND SURNAME
Ø MEDIA INSTITUTION
Ø E-MAIL AND CONTACTDETAILS
Issued by NEHAWU Secretariat
For further information, please contact:Sizwe Pamla {NEHAWU Media Liaison Officer} at 011 833 2902- 082 558 5962 or email siz...@nehawu.org.za
Visit NEHAWU website: www.nehawu.org.za
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COSATU skinning in the game of social media-Enabling the trade union movement to nurture a communicative platform
The Congress of South Africa Trade Unions has broken new grounds by enabling its members and the society at large, to shape its progressive work.
Follow COSATU General Secretary, cde Zwelinzima Vavi @zwelinzima1 and also COSATU’s Official twitter handles @_cosatu and @cosatu2015, for a second to second update on issues affecting the working class in South Africa and elsewhere.
And the Federation has a Facebook Page ; http://www.facebook.com/pages/Congress-of-South-Africa-Trade-Unions-Cosatu-Today/390972744302076?fref=ts
Forward with building a strong and vibrant trade union movement through a communication platform.
An injury to one is an injury to all!
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Follow Fred van Leeuwen on Twitter!-EI GS
Education International
EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen is now on Twitter - follow @fredvanleeuwen for news, views, insights and highlights from the global education scene.
"Twitter is an amazing tool. Anyone can publish, and re-publish, information instantly, and thus distribute knowledge to thousands of people within minutes. Look at the revolutions in Arab countries that relied on Twitter for rapid communication; or the heated debates that spring up on Twitter during large events like the State of the Union address in the United States - these events show the immense potential the service has," he said.
"I am happy to be able to contribute, and look forward to sharing and discussing with colleagues and friends via Twitter."
To follow Fred van Leeuwen on Twitter, click here to go to@fredvanleeuwen, his Twitter profile. It is also possible to follow@eduint, Education International's offical Twitter account.
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Follow ITUC Secretary General-Sharan Burrow
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Norman Mampane (Communications Officer)
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 010 219-1342
Mobile: +27 72 416 3790
E-Mail: mam...@cosatu.org.za
