COSATU Today Special Bulletin, 18 June 2013
Norman Mampane
COSATU Today Special Bulletin
Our side of the story
Tuesday 18 June 2013
‘Strengthen COSATU for total emancipation’
Contents
Workers’ Parliament
Ø Attention: Affiliates-Invitation to a workshop on organising vulnerable workers on 27th June and the campaigns committee meeting scheduled for 28th June 2013
Ø More than 350 young nurses celebrated Youth Day in Durban
Ø Statement on the Mining Sector Consultative Forum
Ø Enabling COSATU Members to Tweet Effectively
South Africa
Ø COSATU Statement on Youth Day
Ø Address by President Jacob Zuma to the commemoration of National Youth Day, Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal
Ø SADTU wishes the Youth of South Africa a Happy Youth Day
International
Ø ITUC’s ’12 by 12’ Campaign keeps up the pressure on governments for the ratification of the Domestic Workers Convention
Ø Van Rompuy: Growth and jobs are the ultimate goal of all reforms
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!
Attention: Affiliates
Invitation to a workshop on organising vulnerable workers on 27th June and the campaigns committee meeting scheduled for 28th June 2013
Theo Steele, COSATU Organizing Secretary, 18 June 2013
You are invited to attend a Workshop on organising vulnerable workers to be held on Thursday 27th June followed by the scheduled National Campaigns Committee Meeting on Friday 28th June.
The proposed agenda for the 2 days will include the following items:
- Workshop on organising vulnerable workers as per the resolutions taken at the Collective Bargaining Conference in March and the Campaigns and Organising Committee Workshop held on 15 to 16 April 2013.
· Recruitment of Farm workers
· Recruitment in other vulnerable sectors
- Campaigns Committee Meeting
· Reports on the Listening Campaign
· Reports on the Recruitment Campaign
· Setting up National Operation Center
· Report on the 2014 National and Provincial Government Elections
Venue: COSATU Head Office, 2nd Floor
Date: 27th and 28th June 2013
Time: Start 10h00 on first day and finish at 16h30 on second day.
Kindly confirm the names of 2 people who will represent your union and the provincial person for the attention of Neli...@cosatu.org.za.
If your union organises in more than two vulnerable sectors, please feel free to provide names of additional representatives to the workshop on 27th, so that your union’s experiences can be thoroughly shared and reflected.
Yours comradely,
Theodora Steele
(Organising Secretary)
Cc NOBs & Heads of Department
Cc Alliance Partners
________________
More than 350 young nurses celebrated Youth Day in Durban
Patrick Lekala: Chairperson of DENOSA Learner Movement & Tshepo Monoketsi: Secretary of DENOSA Learner Movement, 16 June 2013
In commemoration of Youth Day this year, more than 350 young nurses staged Health Games and dialogues with youths in Durban's North Beach on the 15th-16th June, in a campaign to stop alcohol and substance abuse among young people.
The event was targeting the youth in areas where they will be in masses.
The young nurses, under the wing of Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA Learner Movement) have been dispatched to the Durban coast to hold dialogues with young people in an effort to promote wellness and health among youth through games.
The Youth Games included sporting codes such as volleyball, beach soccer, and netball.
The campaign was extended on the 16th June, with gathering at Addington hospital hall, near the beach, where interaction with young community members will be held around substance and alcohol abuse.
“We have deployed more than 40 student nurses coming from each province,” said national chairperson of the DENOSA Learner Movement and a nurse, Patrick Lekala. “This is our contribution to the Youth Day celebration. We have timed the fact that Monday is also a public holiday, which means that more young people will be flocking to Durban beaches. This will give us enough time to interact with them on health promotion.
MEC of Health in the Province, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, and DENOSA President, Dorothy Matebeni addressed the youth at Durban North Beach.
_________
Statement on the Mining Sector Consultative Forum
The Presidency, 14 June 2013
Government, organised labour and business on Friday 14 June 2013 committed to continue to work together to ensure sustainability of the mining sector for the future of South Africa’s economy.
The parties recognise that the mining industry is central to South Africa’s economy and job creation as well as the need to strengthening the mining sector in these difficult global economic conditions.
A draft framework agreement is being considered by all parties and is expected to be signed by 26 June 2013.
Some of the key areas requiring immediate attention by all parties to place the mining industry sustainable footing are:
· Ensuring law and order and ending violence and conflict;
· Bringing about changes required for peaceful and sustained development for decades;
· Repositioning the mining industry to become attractive to investors and more meaningful contributor to job creation; and
· Responding to the immediate economic situation.
· Identifying long term policy measures including uncertainty in sector regulations and tax policy.
· Accelerating the implementation of human settlement intervention to ensure that there is proper housing for mineworkers; and
· Attending to the problem of high levels of indebtedness of mineworkers;
All parties will work jointly to identify sustainable support measures required for the sector. Government will ensure that the legislative and regulatory programmes provide predictability and certainty for the mining industry.
Government will undertake an assessment of economic and social conditions in surrounding and labour sending areas.
Government will also take steps to prevent abuse of workers by unscrupulous micro-lenders including reviewing regulations around salary deductions and garnishee orders.
Parties recognise the necessity for proper implementation and co-ordination combined with monitoring and evaluation of agreed deliverables.
The parties agreed to meet over the next twelve months on a quarterly basis or as frequently as required under the leadership of the Deputy President to ensure common action to address blockages and new issues as they arise.
Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria
____________________________________________________________
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
COSATU Statement on Youth Day
Vusumuzi Bhengu (The Shop Steward Editor, 15 June 2013
On this momentous 37th anniversary of the unforgettable carnage levelled against black working class youth, the Congress of South African Trade Unions salutes all the young people of South Africa, whose heroism and self-sacrifice over three decades ago helped to pave the way for the liberation of our country.
This was the most crucial turning point in our struggle, as thousands of our young people decided that they had put up with racism and repression for long enough. It was time for change.
The youth uprising of 1976 was without doubt linked to the powerful strike wave that erupted in Durban in 1973 and which was still ringing around the workplaces and communities.
This inspired the children of those workers to take forward the struggle. They set in action a stream of resistance that enlarged over the following decades into a mighty river of revolution.
South African workers will never forget the huge debt they owe to the generation of 1976. They risked death, curtailed their education and defied the might of the apartheid state so that future generations could enjoy liberation, democracy and human rights.
The youth of today are comparatively growing up in a very different and far better world. Thanks to their parents’ battles, they no longer suffer the degradation of institutionalized racist discrimination and abuse, unreasonable arrest and persecution by the state. They are no longer deprived of the right to vote and all the other democratic rights we enjoy today. They can vote, join a trade union and have the right to develop their lives on the basis of ability rather than race.
However, today, young people face a different struggle, which requires a similar movement; a struggle against the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. Our education system continues to fail young people who are trapped in a system in which 70% of matric passes are accounted for by only 11% of former model C schools; 70% of our schools do not have libraries; 60% do not have laboratories; 60% of children are pressed out of the education system before they reach grade 12. Millions of young people are still excluded from accessing education further than secondary school.
The basic education system funnels 400 000 young people every year into the labour market. What is required is a national effort to drastically expand the education and training opportunities of these young people.
Government must expand the FET sector to accept 1 million learners per annum by 2014, compared to the current 400 000 per annum. This will in turn reduce the youth labour force, by extending their stay in the education and training system, so that they acquire basic and high-level cognitive skills.
In this way we can be able to curtail the rising number of young people wanting to join the labour force as the Quarterly Labour Force Survey of the first quarter has revealed that between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013 young people (as young as 15 years old) accounted for 70, 7% of the unemployed persons. These young people should be in school, not looking for employment!
COSATU believes that the crisis of unemployment is structural, and it does not only hit the youth. It is rooted in the economic fault lines we inherited from our colonial and apartheid past - weak infrastructure, monopolies and cartels, an economy over-dependent on the export of raw materials, and dysfunctional education that sidelines millions and denies them the necessary skills. Many of the unemployed youth should indeed not be in the job market at all but still at school, acquiring skills and increasing their employability potential.
On the one hand, we cannot, as social partners, simply fold our arms and wait for the government to address these social ills alone. That is why the Youth Employment Accord, which government, business, organised labour and civil society signed in April, is so crucial. As its preamble says, “additional urgency needs to be injected in job-creation efforts and a national consensus on ways to grow youth and total employment is necessary”.
The measures must however provide genuine solutions, with proper, sustainable jobs, with decent wages, safe and health working conditions and education and training. That is why this accord is so welcome, calling, as it does, for “sustainable, decent work opportunities” and insists on avoiding “youth employment schemes that simply displace older workers”.
This is a clear rejection of the dangerous notion that “any job is better than none”, even if it delivers no training, pays poverty wages, displaces an existing job and disappears after a few months.
From the many excellent proposals in the Accord, these are a few which stand out:
· Youth brigades, to give young people a chance to serve their communities, provide some work experience and training, integrate youth into a social movement, build social cohesion and earn a stipend;
· A solar water heater installation programme to become a youth-focussed sector, employing only young people in installing the heaters, and supporting youth cooperatives and youth-owned enterprises as providers of installation services and maintenance for the programme;
· A green brigade, focused on the Working for Water, Working for Energy, Working on Fire and other environmental programmes, and increasing the intake of young participants in other environment protection and promotion activities;
· Health brigades, to expand home-based care and health and wellness education to communities as part of the NHI and auxiliary health services;
· Literacy brigades to utilize young people to expand adult literacy training;
· To aim for the Expanded Public Works Programme and the Community Works Programme to absorb at least 80% of new entrants from young people;
· All state departments to introduce a focused internship programme, aiming at employing interns over a period of time equal to 5% of the total employment of the departments;
· Second-chance matric programmes for those who have not passed or have poor results, and expanding the intake of FET colleges as part of building a stronger vocational and technical skills base among young people to complement the current focus on academic training.
In addition it will be vital to synchronise all these programmes with the other social accords which were signed in 2011 and 2012 which overlap this Youth Employment Accord, namely:
1. The Basic Education Accord which is especially important in for youth employment, as a well-functioning basic education system equips young people with the basic learning for subsequent training and employment ;
2. The National Skills Accord which sets targets and joint action to give school-leavers apprenticeships and work placement opportunities and commit parties to spend more on skills development.
3. The Local Procurement Accord, to support efforts to reindustrialise South Africa and thus provide jobs in manufacturing to young people (as entrepreneurs, employees or co-operators)
4. The Green Economy Accord which aims for a greener economy, with new ‘green’ jobs that can be a starting point for getting first-time employees into the mainstream economy
But on the other hand, the long-term solution lies in policies to restructure the basis of our economy, to create an economy based on manufacturing industry. The Industrial Policy Action Plan, the infrastructure development programme and at least part of the new growth path plan, if fully implemented, will put us on the road to the second phase of our transition, as the ANC has dubbed it.
This radical economic shift requires that institutionally, the Treasury, which constitutes the biggest obstacle to the government’s economic programme, needs to be urgently realigned; a new mandate needs to be given to the Reserve Bank, which must be nationalised; and the National Planning Commission must be given a renewed mandate, to realign the national plan, in line with the proposed radical economic shift. Aspects of the New Growth Path also need to be realigned in line with the proposed new macro-economic framework. All state owned enterprises and state development finance institutions need to be given a new mandate.
The task of fundamental transformation of our economy, the creation of decent work and the provision of basic services to the majority of our people cannot be left to the market forces.
COSATU has consistently called for decisive state intervention in strategic sectors of the economy, including through strategic nationalisation and state ownership, and the use of a variety of macro-economic and other levers at the states disposal, which can be deployed to regulate and channel investment, production, consumption and trade to deliberately drive industrialisation, sustainable development, decent employment creation, and regional development, and to break historical patterns of colonial exploitation and dependence.
In conclusion, the best possible way to commemorate the struggles of the youth of 1976 is to mobilise the youth of today in a crusade to create jobs, open up educational opportunities and create healthy and prosperous communities, so that tomorrow’s youth can be free from the evils which still blight the lives of so many young people today.
Let the youth of today rededicate themselves to service to the community, so that the youth of tomorrow can inherit the better life for all our people, for which the youth of yesterday fought and died. We must never let those martyrs of our struggle be forgotten!
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Address by President Jacob Zuma to the commemoration of National Youth Day, Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal
Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa, 16 June 2013
Honourable Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Mkhize
Honourable Ministers,
Deputy Ministers, MECs and Mayors,
MPs and MPLs,
NYDA Chairperson, Yershen Pillay,
Fellow South Africans,
Sanibonani, molweni, good day, dumelang to the youth of South Africa in every corner of our country.
Today, the nation recalls the events of 16 June 1976 in Soweto, and remembers the heroism of our young people who took on the might of the apartheid state, in pursuit of freedom, equality and human rights.
We commemorate National Youth Day under the theme;Working Together for Youth Development and a Drug Free South Africa.
The theme indicates that the challenge facing the youth during this era of freedom and democracy is different to that of the youth before 1994.
We pay tribute to the youth of 1976 who took on the might of the apartheid state and also remember Hector Petersen, who became a symbol of the student uprising and quest for freedom and a better life.
The bravery of our youth during those difficult times pushed our country closer to freedom and democracy which we finally achieved in 1994.
We also pay a fitting tribute to generations of youth in the past decades.
Namhlanje sikhumbula ubuqhawe bentsha yase- Soweto kanye nasezindaweni eziningi eNingizimu Africa. Izingane nentsha zaqoma ukufa, sezikhathele ingcindezelo.
Lesisibindi nobuqhawe, nokuthanda izwe labo kangaka, siyohlale sikukhumbula njalo.
Kungumlando omuhle kakhulu ezweni lethu ukuthi intsha yadlala indima ebalulekile emzabalazweni wenkululeko.
Compatriots,
In a few months we will be celebrating 20 years of freedom. We will pause and take stock of the road we traversed since the 1994 democratic breakthrough.
We have come a long way since 1976. South Africa has changed considerably, for the better.
We thank the youth for their sterling contribution to both freedom and the reconstruction of their country.
Through the collective efforts of the 1976 generation of youth we saw the “doors of learning and culture being opened" after 1994.
We witnessed the democratic government changing the draconian laws that had made the lives of the majority of our youth miserable in South Africa.
During the first ten years of democracy alone, 789 laws or amendments aimed at reconfiguring South African society were approved by Parliament.
The dismantling of the legal framework of apartheid and transformation of many state institutions has led to the visible improvement of the socio-economic conditions of millions of people, including the youth.
We prioritise youth development with good reason in this country.
Census 2011 indicated that South Africa is a youthful country. More than 50% of the population is young people under 39 years of age.
Census 2011 told us that for the next 20 years, South Africa will have over 14 million young people between the ages of 15 and 29. The number will peak in 2021, reaching 15.1 million.
Given the youthfulness of the population, we need to provide a good quality education and skills. Steady progress is being made but more must still be done.
The percentage of the population who completed a higher education which includes certificates, diplomas above Grade 12, as well as degrees and postgraduate qualifications, increased from 7,1% in 1996 to 8,4% in 2001 and slightly increased in 2011 to 12,1%.
The proportion of persons who completed secondary education or higher education increased from 23,4% in 1996 to 40, 5% in 2011. This figure shows improvement, but it is still far from what we want for our country.
Census 2011 indicated as well that the youth form the bulk of the working age population who are not working. In fact 65% of our black youth is unemployed.
The latest studies also show that 72 per cent of South Africa’s unemployed are younger than 34.
Our education and development programmes are designed to correct these challenges.
At the basic education level, we are focusing on improving access to schooling and to improve the learning conditions.
It is for this reason that we have more than eight million children in no-fee school, over eight million children receiving nutritious meals at school and more than 800 000 being enrolled in Grade R compared to about 300 000 just a few years ago.
The building and refurbishment of schools is continuing, to eradicate mud schools and other inappropriate structures.
We have prioritised access to higher education especially technical and vocational education to expand the country’s skills base.
We are happy in particular with the increase in enrolments at FET colleges. For the 2012 academic year we had set a target of five hundred and fifty thousand (550 000) student headcount enrolments at Further Education and Training Colleges.
We exceeded this target and colleges enrolled a total of six hundred and fifty seven thousand, six hundred and ninety (657 690) students. This represented an increase of 54% over the preceding year.
Government has allocated 17.4 billion rand to ensure that FET College enrolments continue to increase.
This money will be spent on building and improving FET College infrastructure.
We exceeded our targets in FET financial assistance as well.
In 2012 government provided financial assistance through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to one hundred and eighty seven thousand four hundred and ninety seven (187 497) FET College students.
The plan had been to assist one hundred and eighty thousand eight hundred and twenty six (180 826) students for that year.
We are encouraged that our young people understand the importance of education and skills development. They are following in the footsteps of the children and youth of 1976 who prioritized quality education.
Beyond education, we are also investing in youth employment. It is for this reason that a landmark youth employment accord was signed by government, business, labour and youth organisations from all political persuasions on 18 April 2013.
We urge the youth to contribute to implementing the Accord, which must be done in the spirit of the country’s socio-economic blueprint, the National Development Plan.
The National Development Plan singles out young people as being key to the development of the country.
It highlights that South Africa’s youthful population presents an opportunity to boost economic growth, increase employment and reduce poverty. The Plan also proposes the strengthening of youth service programmes and the introduction of new, community-based initiatives to offer young people life-skills training and entrepreneurship training.
The implementation of the National Development Plan and the youth accord will take into account the progress made to date in promoting youth development.
Government has specifically put measures in place to boost labour absorption among young people and to create an environment for economic growth that supports youth development over the long term.
I will mention just a few:
Scores of young people from three thousand three hundred (3 300) rural wards across the country are enrolled in various training programmes under the National Rural Youth Services Corps.
There is also a plan to create nine Rural Youth Hubs per province, including in the 23 poorest districts in the country.
We have directed the Expanded Public Works Programme, which provides temporary work opportunities for the unemployed – to insist that 40% of people employed on these projects be young people.
The new Small Enterprise Funding Agency, formed after merging small business financing institutions, will make R1,7 billion available over the next five years for youth enterprises, with a target of R220 million in this financial year.
In addition, the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa has announced a R1 billion Youth Fund to provide concessional lending to youth-owned enterprises that create jobs.
We have put all these programmes in place, and will also continue to improve access to education, basic services to improve the quality of life of young people.
Compatriots,
Having mentioned the work being done to improve the lives of our youth, we must bear in mind that the youth of today faces a different struggle to that of 1976.
What is common in the struggles of these two generations; is the building of a ‘better life for all’.
This clarion call to the youth to fight against apartheid was in essence to fight for a ‘better life’.
The youth of 1976 were made not to be full citizens of this country. They were made to be pariahs in their motherland and could not influence or participate in decision making in their own country.
The youth is now empowered by the Constitution and the laws of the land to participate fully in building a better life.
The fight for a better life for all is an integral part of our fight against poverty, unemployment and inequality.
A salient point in this struggle for a better life is the fight against drugs and substance abuse; the fight against crime and gangsterism; the fight against child and women abuse; the fight against teenage pregnancy and truancy as well as the fight against mob justice and xenophobia.
Thus our special message to the youth of the Republic today, is that you must become an integral part of the struggle against all these cancers that are painfully eating our society.
Alcohol and drug abuse in particular, are slowly eating into the social fibre of our communities.
We must fight the scourge with the same vigour that we fought apartheid, and the zest that is displayed in our successful fight against HIV and AIDS today.
The youth have become slaves of drugs such as Nyaope, whoonga, tik and Kubar amongst others. Others are slaves to alcohol abuse.
According the 2nd South African National Youth Risk Behaviour Survey 2008, the Western Cape, Gauteng, Free State and North West reported the highest alcohol consumption rates by the youth.
Limpopo and Western Cape were the only provinces where more female learners than male learners had used alcohol in their lifetime.
Alcohol abuse among young people is usually a gateway to the use of harmful substances.
Drug and substance abuse have serious implications for the millions of citizens because they contribute to crime, gangsterism, domestic violence, family dysfunction and other forms of social problems.
Thus as Government, we must respond more vociferously than ever, to the cries of the youth of Eldorado Park, Mabopane, Westbury, Mamelodi, and other areas who are facing the onslaught of drugs.
We have heard the cries of the youth of Gugulethu and Mitchell’s Plain, Valhala Park and other areas against crime and gangsterism.
The youth of Port Elizabeth and Diepsloot must be supported in their fight against ‘mob justice’ and ‘xenophobia’.
We have heard the cries of the youth of De Aar and Pampierstad in the Northern Cape in their effort to root-out alcohol abuse and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and many other social ills.
Studies, particularly among rural populations and those associated with wine farms in the Western Cape, have demonstrated that 5% of school-entry children have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders.
In Diepsloot, Lenasia South, Westbury and Soweto, the rate of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder is 2.6% of that population.
The situation is extreme in two populations in the Northern Cape Province in De Aar and Upington, where the prevalence is seven percent.
As we speak today, many parents are in pain, as they watch their children deteriorating and their lives being destroyed by drugs and alcohol abuse.
I visited Eldorado Park recently and listened to horrific tales of young people who rob their own families in order to obtain money for drugs.
I have heard tales of children as young as eight years old who are now addicted to drugs.
I have heard tales of young girls who are molested in drug dens, or “lollie lounges”. Siyazizwa izikhalo zabazali ezweni lonke, bethi izingane zibulawa izidakamizwa kanti ezinye ziyizigqila zotshwala. Ezinye zintshontsha imali nezimpahla emakhaya kuze zithenge o- whoonga, nyaope nezinye izidakamizwa.
Sithi akufanele sivumele abadayisi bezidakamizwa babulale ikusasa lezingane zethu, nekusasa lezwe lethu. Masibambisane silwe nalenkinga.
We must today declare drug and alcohol abuse as the enemies of our freedom and democracy.
We must declare drug traffickers and those who run illegal alcohol outlets that sell alcohol to our children the enemies of our freedom. They should be ashamed of running businesses that destroy children, the youth and many families.
Government and its partners are implementing the Anti-Substance National Plan of Action. Communities must play an active role in ensuring success.
We need to work with law enforcement agencies to ensure that such people are brought to book. We must report them, so that we can stop them from destroying our communities.
The plan focuses on enabling policy and legislation, the reduction of supply and demand of drugs as well as treatment and rehabilitation of addicts.
Already there are 215 Local Drug Action Committees around the country that are assisting communities manage their own preventative work at grassroots level.
The SA Police Service plays a key role in the fight against drugs and substance alcohol abuse. We have seen the impact of visible policing in Eldorado Park where they moved in to clean up the community.
Information provided by the community is of crucial importance and partnership initiatives like Crime Line play to encourage community members to provide information.
Since crime analysis conducted by SAPS at all levels indicates a clear link between alcohol abuse and violent crime, crime combating and prevention operations focus specifically on the supply of alcohol, in addition to illegal drugs.
During the past financial year, police conducted a total of three hundred and ninety four thousand three hundred and seventy nine (394 379) liquor compliance inspections.
A total of seventy four thousand, five hundred and forty seven (74 547) illegal liquor traders were charged and closed down last year.
Designated Police Officials have been appointed at Police Stations and are responsible to address the transgressions of liquor legislation. Some of the illegal outlets are located near schools, which has a serious effect on luring children to drink alcohol at a young age.
The police also run a Safe Schools Programme focusing on preventing drugs, crime and violence in primary and secondary schools.
The SAPS also conducts search and seizure operations, looking for drugs and dangerous weapons in partnership with Safe School Committees located in schools and School Governing Bodies.
In addition to the work of the police or the Department of Social Development, Health and others, youth and parents must play their part.
The youth must say NO to drugs and all illegal substances and must seek help.
The youth should support their peers who are trapped in alcohol and drug abuse. The youth should assist the police to bring to book the drug traffickers who destroy the lives of children.
The youth must join the fight against women and child abuse and violence against women in general.
The new scourge of sexual violence against women and girls must stop.
Indeed, our youth have a lot of work to do as part of nation building.
Fellow South Africans, in addition to this priority of promoting healthy lifestyles for young people, we still expect the youth to raise sharply and constructively, issues pertaining to education and economic participation on all fronts, including in government and society, as we consolidate the gains of the 1994 democratic breakthrough.
The youth of South Africa have a bright future, but that depends on what they plough today.
The National Youth Development Agency has been tasked with the responsibility of assisting the youth to find their true potential.
The new Board of the NYDA, led by chairperson Yershen Pillay, has reduced the strategic areas of the NYDA by 50% in order to become more focused.
Attention will now be paid to Economic Participation, Education and Skills Development, Policy and Research, Health and Well being as well as Governance and administration.
To ensure the effectiveness of the agency, the Presidency is facilitating amendment of the NYDA ACT to enable much more focused interventions.
It is also expected that the NYDA will soon start with the process of reviewing the National Youth Policy, because the term of the current policy is coming to an end in 2014. This process should be used as an opportunity to take stock of the impact of various interventions that have been implemented to date.
We thank the previous NYDA Board Members for their contribution to the organisation.
In order to intensify the voice of young people, the Presidency is also establishing a Presidential Youth Working Group – a youth sector stakeholder platform to be used to directly engage key relevant stakeholders in the youth development space.
The youth of the Republic are inheriting the legacy of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Braam Fischer, Phyllis Naidoo, Charlotte Maxeke and a host of stalwarts.
Therefore, they must hold the rainbow nation flag high. They must sing the country’s National Anthem with pride in the knowledge that South Africa belongs to them, and that the future belongs to them all.
As youth, your task is learn, learn and learn.
Learn from the lives of those before you and most important of all to learn the skills that are necessary to build a winning nation and a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.
Your task is to contribute to building a prosperous South Africa, free of crime, drugs and substance abuse and free of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
Your task as the youth, is to help us to build a truly caring society.
That is the mission from which must emerge new heroes and heroines.
Compatriots,
Let me at this juncture, invite you all to keep Madiba in our thoughts and prayers. As you are aware, President Nelson Mandela is still in hospital in Pretoria.
We are grateful that he continues to get better.
Over the last two days, although he remains serious, his doctors have stated that his improvement has been sustained. He continues to engage with family.
I invite you to join me today, in wishing Madiba a very happy Father’s Day today.
We love him and know that he loves us too.
I wish all our youth a successful and productive National Youth Day!
May God Bless South Africa!
I thank you.
_________
SADTU wishes the Youth of South Africa a Happy Youth Day
Nomusa Cembi, SADTU National Media Officer, 14 June 2013
As South Africa commemorates the 37th anniversary of the June 16 Soweto uprisings, SADTU would like to pay tribute to the youth of that era and urge today’s youth to fashion themselves around the 76 youth.
The youth of 76, did not run away from the challenges facing them but united, identified and faced the enemy.
Today’s youth is equally facing a barrage of challenges – high unemployment, inequality, high levels of violence – physical and sexual - in the school and at home.
This year’s Youth Day theme; “Working together for youth development and a drug free South Africa” could not have been more appropriate.
We need all spheres of society and government to meet the youth and work out how they can provide support to the “future” of our country.
We urge the youth to come and search a new agenda for development for themselves like the youth of Soweto did in 76. Education guarantees development and sustainable livelihood.
Education remains the only tool to confront and defeat drug and alcohol abuse.
It is education that can bring an end to violence at schools and in our communities.
We welcome the efforts by government to fight drugs in places like Eldorado Park and we hope this will be escalated into to a national action.
Happy Youth Day!
Issued by:
SADTU Secretariat
International
ITUC’s ’12 by 12’ Campaign keeps up the pressure on governments for the ratification of the Domestic Workers Convention
Zuzanna Muskat-Gorska, International Trade Union Confederation ,14 June 2013
On 16 June, actions and mobilisations in dozens of countries (from Spain to India, Senegal to Chile ) are expected to keep up the pressure on governments to better protect domestic workers in law and practice and to put a hold on the exploitation and abuse of the 50 to 100 million domestic workers.
Two years on from the historical adoption of the ILO Convention 189 at the International Labour Conference (ILC) on 16 June 2011, the ITUC is intensifying the campaign to get more ratifications and to strengthen domestic workers’ unions.
The adoption of a Convention and of a Recommendation, which are aimed at extending fundamental labour rights to an estimated 50 to 100 million domestic workers worldwide, represents a landmark step in the fight against discrimination and abuses. However, that fight is still far from over, since more governments need to ratify Convention 189 and to modify their national labour laws accordingly.
ITUC’s ’12 by 12’ Campaign aims at 12 ratifications of C189, a goal nearly achieved with the two ratifications of C189 last week: Germany and South Africa – making up a total of 10 ratifications.
Other aims and impacts of the ’12 by 12’ Campaign include major labour law reforms (including Brazil, Argentina, Philippines, Vietnam and in two states in the U.S., namely Hawaii and Oregon), significant pay rise of minimum wages in Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi and new collective bargaining agreements in Italy and Uruguay. New unions have been established in Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, Columbia, Egypt and Angola and tens of thousands of domestic workers have been organised in unions.
The ‘12 x 12’ Campaign is a broad coalition gathering unions, NGOs and other civil society partners in more than 90 countries, working together on improving rights and protection for domestic workers.
Background information:
So far, there have been 10 ratifications: seven countries whose ratifications are registered at the ILO (Uruguay, Philippines, Mauritius, Italy, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Bolivia) and three who finished their ratification process at national level and still need to register at ILO: Colombia, Germany and South Africa.
ITUC ‘s ’12 by 12’ Campaign international partners are the International Domestic Workers Network, IUF, PSI, ETUC, Human Right Watch, Anti-Slavery International, Amnesty International , Caritas, SOLIDAR, Migrant Forum Asia , World Solidarity and FOS.
For more information, see
The 12 by 12 Newsletter: http://www.ituc-csi.org/2nd-12-by-12-newsletter-2013
The 12 by 12 Flyer: http://www.ituc-csi.org/new-12-by-12-flyer?lang=en
The 12 by 12 Webpage: http://www.ituc-csi.org/domestic-workers-12-by-12
12 June: Global Day Against Child Labour – focus on child domestic workers: http://www.ituc-csi.org/world-day-against-child-labour
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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Van Rompuy: Growth and jobs are the ultimate goal of all reforms
ILO, 15 June 2013
Ahead of the European Council meeting, European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy, addresses the International Labour Conference and says that the ILO has a key role to play in helping to address the challenges that Europe faces.
The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, has called for immediate measures to help create jobs, boost economic growth and preserve social stability in Europe.
“Five years of low growth or no-growth, not to say a recession, have resulted in higher unemployment levels, unprecedented since the eighties. This is affecting the lives of millions and could eventually threaten the social fabric of countries and our Union, and fighting it is our number one political priority today,” said Van Rompuy in a speech to the 102nd International Labour Conference.
We need measures with an immediate impact to help create jobs." |
“Growth and jobs are the ultimate goal of all the reforms..., but reforms take time to bear fruit. So we also need measures with an immediate impact, to help create jobs, to spur economic activity, to preserve social stability and human dignity,” he added.
In his welcoming remarks, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder assured President Van Rompuy that “we are ready to be partners to address the crisis, with an emphasis on decent work, promoting enterprises, good governance, investment and social justice.”
Youth employment
Van Rompuy put special emphasis on the issue of youth employment, saying that the European Council has redirected considerable amounts of EU funds, which have directly benefited 800,000 young people in the eight most affected countries.
He said that all EU countries have signed up to the Youth Guarantee, a commitment that every young man or woman should receive a good offer of employment, education or training within four months of leaving school or becoming unemployed.
“Two countries already have it, but it’s a unique achievement to have 27, soon 28, countries commit to this high standard – which I believe is fully in line with the ILO's philosophy. The time is now for full mobilisation to turn that commitment into reality, as quickly as possible. I want EU leaders to focus on it at our next summit at the end of the month.”
Working with the ILO and its social partners
Van Rompuy said that the EU will help companies to create jobs and that it is working on improving credit access for small and medium companies, not least since they create three quarters of all European jobs:
“Financing the economy is, together with youth unemployment, the major topic for our next European Council summit.”
Like at the ILO, social dialogue is at the heart of our social model." |
He explained that the EU is involving European employers' and workers' organizations to find practical solutions and exchange best practises.
“Like at the ILO, social dialogue is at the heart of our social model, even if it is under pressure these days.”
“The European Union believes in the power of universal norms and standards. The ILO has a fundamental role to play in helping countries to repair the economic and social fabric. It’s only by working together that we can truly achieve our goals”, President Van Rompuy concluded, stressing the need for social dialogue and the constantly growing partnership and collaboration between the ILO and EU.
For more information please contact the Department of Communication and Public Information atcommun...@ilo.org or news...@ilo.org or +4122/799-7912.
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 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
