Unions send strong message to Mbeki Govt.

By M.S. Prabhakara

CAPE TOWN, MAY 10. South Africa's organised working class, in particular the 1.8 million strong membership of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and its affiliates, responded massively today to the one-day stay away call by the trade union federation.

Contrary to expectations, the workers turned out in huge numbers. About 50,000 members marched to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in the heart of the city where Cosatu leaders handed over a memorandum protesting against job losses - the principal focus of these protests. As it is, only about a third of the population is defined as `economically active'. But this part of the working class is facing the prospect of increasing job losses. Unemployment now stands at between 25.5 per cent (strict definition) and over 37 per cent (expanded definition).

Indeed, the focus of the protests too has essentially been business rather than the Government. According to a radio report, the rally was addressed both by the President of the Cosatu, Mr. Willie Madisha, and the CEO of the South African Chamber of Business, Mr. Kevin Wakeford, though their perspectives on the protests and the more fundamental issues of job creation were different. The protests were peaceful and orderly.

Thousands of workers marched in Cape Town to the offices of SACOB and the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce. Later today, coinciding with the beginning of the sitting of Parliament in the afternoon, workers will be marching to Parliament where they will be handing over a memorandum.

Workers also stayed away from the industrial establishments in the Eastern Cape, where the automobile industry is located. Reports from various parts of the country around noon indicated that the strike call had evoked a massive response countrywide, in contrast to the relatively poor response that the earlier phases.

The strike is the culminating action of a four-month long `mass action' campaign against job losses that began on January 31 this year. Despite the advance notice given about today's stayaway, and despite the placing of these issues nearly a year ago formally before the National Economic, Development and Labour Council (Nedlac, the statutory body to facilitate, co- ordinate and integrate economic, labour and social policies), these issues remained neglected all these months - a fact acknowledged by the Nedlac yesterday.

The stayaway also is an explicit acknowledgement and defiance of the Government's warning that it would strictly apply its `no work no pay rule' to all members of the pubic service who participated in the action.

An interesting aspect of the government's attitude towards such mass action by Cosatu, supported both by the SACP as well as the ANC as a political party, is that the key persons tasked with the very processes which the unions are protesting against are both members of the SACP, as well as of course of the ANC.

It is however unlikely that the stayaway will influence the policies of the Government which, in co-ordination with the policies of business and industry, have led to massive job losses.

As against this is the conviction of the industry and key government leaders articulated most openly by the Finance Minister, Mr. Trevor Manuel, that there was no way in which this situation could be tackled without structural changes. In the main, insofar as the Government is concerned, this has meant a massive programme of restructuring of state assets and privatisation. The Government admits that this has necessarily entailed job losses though in the long run, by ensuring foreign investors eager to take advantage of these programmes, more jobs will be created.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : 2 ex-U.S. Presidents push for China vote