COSATU's fuller response to State of the Nation Address

The Congress of South African Trade Unions has studied President Zuma's State of the Nation Speech and analysed it in more detail.

We are reassured that the government is still guided by the priorities outlined in the ANC election manifesto, which were to achieve major reforms and improvements in the following areas:

• Creation of decent work and sustainable livelihoods

• Education

• Health

• Rural development, food security and land reform

• The fight against crime and corruption.

In pursuit of these priorities, COSATU therefore warmly welcomes, among others:

• The recommitment to the Expanded Public Works Programme

• The extension of social grants to two million more children aged 15 to 18 years

• The reaffirmation of preparations to establish a national health insurance system

• The allocation of over 6 000 hectares of land for low-income and affordable housing

• Support for the teachers' unions commitment to quality learning and teaching

• Ambitious targets for skills development

• Continuation of support measures to protect vulnerable sectors, contained in the 2009 Framework Agreement.

COSATU only cautiously welcomes the new initiative to provide R1 billion to incentivise the private banking sector to provide housing finance for those with no access to it. We believe however that the banks should not be discriminating against poorer households in the first place, and should not have to be ‘incentivised' to provide them with loans. We fear that the banks, rather than the householders could be the chief beneficiaries.

The Federation was disappointed that there was no appreciation of the full extent of the massive crisis of unemployment, poverty and inequality. The employment statistics for the last quarter of 2009 certainly do not provide evidence that we are getting back on track to create new jobs on the scale required. The number of new jobs is small and many are casual jobs.

Unemployment remains far higher than in any comparable country in the world, and as a consequence poverty is widespread, and we now have world-record levels of inequality.

Government policy must be based on the understanding that our economy was in crisis even before the recession hit us, as a result of the legacy from colonialism and apartheid of over-dependence on the export of raw materials and capital intensive sectors.

That is why is essential that we urgently adopt a completely new growth path to transform our economy into one based on labour-intensive manufacturing industry and one that meets the basic needs of our people.  We regret that the President did not indicate when such a new economic growth path to tackle this national emergency will be announced.

COSATU was particularly concerned that the President said nothing on the creation of decent work, the spread of casualisation of labour and the scourge of labour broking, and nothing to explain how he intends to implement the 2009 manifest commitment to "avoid exploitation of workers and ensure decent work for all workers as well as to protect the employment relationship, introduce laws to regulate contract work, subcontracting and out- sourcing, address the problem of labour broking and prohibit certain abusive practices."

The rapid casualisation of labour is wreaking havoc with the lives of thousands of workers, as relatively secure and well-paid jobs are being replaced by casual, temporary, insecure and low-paid forms of employment. Labour brokers are the chief drivers of this process and we shall continue to demand that labour broking has no role to play in a decent-work economy and that government must legislate to ban it.

COSATU is totally opposed to the suggestion that privatisation has a role to play in the electricity generating sector, through the participation of independent power producers and an independent system operator. COSATU remains convinced that moves towards privatisation will ultimately wreck a crucial public national service and we shall continue to campaign vigorously to prevent the sell-off of a vital public asset.

While welcoming the commitment to stepping up the fight against corruption, the federation was worried that the emphasis was on corruption at the lower levels - of fraud, in the issuing of social grants, drivers' licences and ID cards - rather than the critical problem of senior public officials abusing their position to amass private wealth and the inevitable conflict of interest of public representatives who continue to be involved in private business.

COSATU repeats its insistence that all public representatives must be forced to choose whether they want to be servants of the public or in business to make profits. They cannot be both at the same time. The succession of corruption scandals and the spread of the capitalist culture of greed and self-enrichment are threatening to unravel the fabric of society and undermine all the great progress we have made in a democratic South Africa.

That is why the federation has called for a ‘life-style audit' of all the Cabinet Ministers, Director Generals and Deputy Director Generals, to establish how some have some afford more than one mansion, holiday homes, expensive holidays, etc. 

Statement issued by Patrick Craven, COSATU national spokesperson, February 12 2010

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