COSATU BETRAYS THE WORKERS

The saddest part of George Orwell's novel Animal Farm is where Boxer the horse is sent off to be slaughtered.

He has worked tirelessly all his life with little reward, and been utterly loyal to the revolution on the farm that has put the pigs in charge.

He has fallen ill, and is told that he is being taken to a hospital and then retirement.

But his friend has read on the side of the van: "Alfred Simmons, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler"

The other animals cry: "Get out Boxer! They're taking you to your death!"

Boxer tries to kick his way out, but his strength has left him.

Later, the pigs celebrate with whisky bought with the money from his sale.

Orwell meant Boxer's fate to show the betrayal of the working class in the Soviet Union.

I thought of Boxer when I heard speakers at COSATU's recent Central Committee meeting rave on about building socialism.

According to COSATU President Sidumo Dlamini: "We are a Marxist-Leninist formation ... we subject ourselves to the discipline of communists."

In a country where more than six million are unemployed he declares "an open war on employers" if they defy "the mother of all Living Wage Campaigns".

The sheer irresponsibility is mind-blowing.

COSATU champions the narrow interests of its relatively privileged members in ways that shut out the poorest people even more.

High wage settlements in the public sector mean that government cannot afford to fill vacancies in needed areas.

Private employers will hire less and mechanise more if labour is too expensive.

If labour brokers are banned, as COSATU wants, then more than 30% of contract jobs could be lost,  as happened when Namibia outlawed brokers.

Retail giant Walmart plans to spend R60 billion in the next five years opening stores and buying goods, mostly from local suppliers.

This will create 15 000 jobs, but SACCAWU is appealing Walmart's R16.5 billion takeover of Massmart.

SACTWU is happy to see 4600 clothing workers lose jobs in Newcastle because the bargaining council has shut down companies that can't pay minimum wages.

This same union lost R100 million of its members' pension money through appalling mismanagement.

Another destructive union is SADTU, which is notorious for sabotaging schools and defending lazy teachers.

And unionized health workers abandoned hospital patients in the national strike last year.

It's no surprise that a union would first and foremost promote its members.

But it should not pretend this serves the general interest, especially those who will never get jobs because of the rigid labour laws that COSATU champions.

COSATU needs to do some serious introspection.

Its class war rhetoric is as outmoded as the Marxist ideology that has led to mass murder and ruin wherever it has been applied.

Its members do not all vote ANC but it endorses the ANC at every election.

This compromises its independence and embroils its leaders in the ANC's internal leadership battles.

This is why it supported the Scorpion's axing despite their success in fighting corruption.

COSATU should learn from successful countries where unions have a constructive relationship with business.

Germany, for instance, weathered the downturn well by having more flexible working arrangements.

No country has ever been built by militant and revolutionary unions.

Jack Bloom MPL, is DA Leader in the Gauteng Legislature. This article first appeared in The Citizen.

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