23.7.2011
The working
class in
The current
wave of strikes that continue from last year’s public sector and municipal
strikes, show that the grassroots of Cosatu is starting to break from the
alliance with the ANC and SACP. Workers who are on strike openly talk about how
last year, when the public sector workers were demanding 12% (a double digit
increase) that Vavi and the rest of the Cosatu leadership came to the rescue of
the government and big capital by declaring that 7.5% was good enough for
workers. Big capital (the imperialists) were very happy with the Cosatu and
SACP leaders because they could now force the rest of the working class to
accept a 7.5% ‘increase’ or less. Last year, petrol went up by more than 10%,
electricity went up by 30%, food went up by more than 20% but the Cosatu
leaders declared that 7.5% was good enough for workers while in 2009, when 1
million workers were being retrenched without a fight by the leaders, they gave
themselves a 100% increase to earn R500 000
per annum (what the Cosatu leaders call a ‘market related’ increase). Cosatu’s
investment company, Kopano Ke Matla, has a 10.8% share in Gidani that runs the
Lotto. Thus the fat salaries of the Cosatu officials is taken from exploitation
of the poorest of the poor. The ‘market-related’ salaries of the Cosatu and
SACP leaders have enabled them to move into the areas of the bourgeoisie, like
Sandton, while over the hill the masses live in deprivation.
The Cosatu and SACP leaders betray
the Living wage campaign
It is no
accident that most sectors deadlock during July- this was part of the Living
wage campaign in Cosatu in the 1980’s. The idea was for all sectors to
negotiate and deadlock at the same time, to unite the struggles in a general
strike against the capitalist class and the old regime. The current Cosatu and
SACP leaders all know that- they were part of the struggles at that time. This
year, already the price of fuel has gone up by more than 15%, electricity has
again gone up by 30%, food inflation just for the first 6 months is more than
15%, yet most sectors are only demanding between 13-18%- very low indeed,
workers should be demanding at least 30% increases. Not only that but the
Cosatu leaders knew months ago that virtually every sector was in deadlock- the
metal, chemical and paper, public sector, the municipal sector, the mines. Yet
the Cosatu leaders postponed their Central Committee which was due to take
place before the 18th May elections, to the end of June. Cosatu’s
own research arm, Naledi, presented evidence that between real wages of workers have declined from an average of R3558 in 1995 to
R2744 in 2005, a decline of 23%. Naledi was arguing for a revival of the
Living wage campaign. Yet the Cosatu leaders abandoned workers to fight in
their own corners, instead of uniting in a general strike as was the original
aim.
Not only
are Cosatu and SACP leaders working day and night to divide the fight of
workers and for them to lower their demands, when workers have forced strikes
to go ahead, the leaders do very little mobilising of workers on the ground for
the strike- as has been the case of the metal and chemical and paper strikes so
far. Despite the lack of preparation for the strikes, the workers have come out
in tens of thousands. Since 22nd July the diamond mineworkers have
come out on strike while the union leaders are desperately trying to persuade
mine workers in other sub-sectors, to lower their demands.
How the Cosatu and SACP leaders
cover for the real ‘predatory elite’ and the way forward
The Cosatu
leaders pat themselves on the back when the capitalist press flatters them
about their ‘fight against corruption’. In many countries, imperialism uses the
same technique to maintain control of the masses. For example in
The very police that are shooting the
strikers are also represented in the Cosatu executive meetings- the police
union, while condemning the shooting is strikers also call for protection of
private property- in that they have the same position as the Cosatu and SACP
leaders and show their true class role
The ANC has
reduced the tax rate for companies, which used to be 48% in the days of ‘apartheid’ (slave capitalism), to 28%. Company profits have grown to R350
Bn per annum, most of which is
taken out of the country. (and this is only the declared profits- the real
figure of the wealth stolen from the working class must be much higher). The
Cosatu ANC and SACP leaders want us all to focus on the pay of the CEO’s which
has risen this year by 23% for the top 40 companies (their bonuses went up by
56%). If the CEO’s millionaire salaries are limited, then the geniuses in
government and in the SACP and Cosatu leadership want workers to accept a 6%
‘increase’ (in reality a wage cut). This is a scam as the companies would still
be taking hundreds of billions in profits from brutal exploitation of the
working class. The bosses would still pay their CEO’ millions while the masses
die of starvation. The SACP fully endorses the ANC’s New Growth Path, which is a plan
to lower workers wages while allowing the imperialist companies to continue
to rake in massive profits. This plan has been championed by none other than
ex-Cosatu leader, Ebrahim Patel.
The leaders
want us to focus on the ANC investment company, Chancellor House, which
received R3bn and forget that the ANC government facilitated that Anglo
American and its French partners receiving over R1 trillion (R1000 Bn) for a
fraudulent electricity build programme in the next 10-15 years to double the
electricity capacity, while industry is in decline. (Solar and hydropower would
be a fraction of the overall cost, if we consider the ongoing expenses, but
they are ignored in favour of a coal and nuclear- both sectors which are
controlled by Anglo American).
There was a
resolution from the 2006 Cosatu Congress for general strikes of at least 2
days. These are just ignored by the leaders. Workers have forced Cosatu
decisions for general strikes against the electricity and food price increases-
the Cosatu and SACP leaders just trample on and ignore the masses. Kopano, the
Cosatu investment company, also has shares in SANRAL, for road upgrading, a
joint partnership with the Bank of New York and JP Morgan Chase (these are the
very companies that control Anglo American). Izingwe, the investment company
linked to the SACP is in partnership with AngloGold
Cosatu and
SACP leaders protect the capitalist class by calling marches away from company
premises on the first day of the strikes. This prepares the platform for stayaways and in effect giving up of
control of the workplace to the capitalist, who then organises their security
and keep workers locked out. Even when general strikes are called, they are
really general stayaways, not occupation
of the workplace. The stayaway tactic by the SACP and Cosatu leaders protect
the companies from being occupied and taken over by the workers, in this way
they play the role of protector of the big bosses within the ranks of the
working class. We should mobilise that the
coming municipal and mining strikes and other sectors, take the form of
occupation rather than stayaways.
Many
workers have been shot by the police, at least 6 were hospitalised. Chevron,
Total, BP,and other oil companies have organised their own fascistic private
security to bash the workers. The ANC has threatened to send in the army to
break the strike. The ANC is already working with the FBI and CIA to train the
new militarized police. This immediately raises the question of self-defence committees, workers militias,
as part of every strike from now onwards- we need to mobilise the rank and file
soldiers to refuse to be used against the masses and indeed to join the work of
self-defence of the strikes. We all remember how the military police was used
to bash the peaceful march of the soldiers, a thousand of whom until today are
not back at work. We are not only
fighting local capital but imperialism too.
The ANC and
SACP-controlled National Youth Development Agency has blamed the strikes for
being a threat to jobs. Thus they act as the voice of big capital to threaten
the workers. But the question is, who is feeding the unemployed? The
government? Big business? NO. It is the employed worker who is feeding the
unemployed. Only 4 million of the 12 million workers are unionised. And only 12
million of the 33 million people of working age are employed. This is even more
reason for employed and unemployed to unite. Up to now the unemployed have been
abandoned to fight on their own, mostly in the housing and services protests-
yet these issues are the same that face the entire working class and
impoverished masses.
Instead of
using Mayday for uniting the struggles and preparing for a general strike, the
Cosatu leaders turned the rallies into a election platform for the ANC. The
municipal workers were going to go on strike before the 18th May
elections. The Cosatu leaders called them in- the ANC accused the workers of
holding them hostage before the elections. The ANC leaders promised to address
workers demands. After the elections the Vice President, Motlanthe, addressed
the Samwu members, brushing them aside and accusing them of side-stepping Salga
(the local government negotiations agency). But Salga is controlled by the ANC,
so the ANC-SACP leaders (Motlanthe is a member of the SACP too), were clearly
the ones who were holding the workers to ransom before the elections, only now to
kick them in the teeth. The Cosatu leaders say that workers must remain in
alliance with these capitalist agents!
Big capital
are the main ones using casualization and labour brokers, yet the Cosatu
leaders protect them by leaving each sector of workers to fight on their own on
a struggle that exists in all sectors. Cosatu should have organised a general
strike against labour brokers but already they are going back on workers
demands- the Numsa agreement accepts labour brokers with conditions- this is an
open betrayal of the demands of the working class.
White
workers, the base of Fedusa, Uasa and Solidarity, are increasingly showing,
against their own reactionary leaders, their willingness to fight. Such unity
in action should be further encouraged.
For the new
sectors coming out on strike now, do not trust your leaders, be they from
Cosatu or ‘independent’ unions. These leaders will not prepare properly for the
strikes, they will try to demoralise and divide you. Set up strike committees
that unite workers irrespective of union affiliation or whether part of the
union or not. Demand rank and file delegates from all regions to be part of the
negotiations. Prepare to occupy your workplaces, prepare workers self-defence.
March to the Cosatu and other union offices to demand solidarity strike action-
the entire working class is facing the same problem of low wages, casualization,
high prices and poor service delivery. If the bosses do not meet the demands of
the chemical and paper sectors, immediate preparation should be made for
solidarity strikes in all sectors, opening the way for a General strike.
We urgently
need to call a Workers Summit with
delegates from every workplace, based on factory committees, farm committees,
committees of rural workers, irrespective if workers are permanent or casual,
local or immigrant, with delegates from students, unemployed, from the rank and
file of the soldiers, to prepare the way for a General strike, unifying our demands against the capitalist state
and the capitalist class and the imperialist masters. The ‘living wage
campaign’ agreed to by the June Cosatu Central Committee is deliberately
designed to only have isolated pickets and symbolic actions, which do not
threaten big capital at all, which turns the workers eyes to parliament, the
very institution which has passed law after law and endorsed policies which not
only rob the masses every day but which prepares further police-state measures
to smash the coming revolution. In countries like
A General
Strike in
This is the
way to give real solidarity to the Palestinians, to cut off the diamond, coal,
gold, missile propellants, aircraft parts and other supplies to