NUMSA SEDIBENG REGIONAL CONGRESS DECLARATION
5 MAY 2012, QUEST CONFERENCE ESTATE,
VANDERBIJLPARK, SEDIBENG
The Numsa Sedibeng Region convened its elective Regional Congress on Saturday 5th May 2012 with 131 Shopstewards in attendance. The Regional Congress met under the strategic theme of the Numsa June 2012 National Congress;
25 years of militant struggle for decent jobs, national liberation and
Socialism!
The Numsa Sedibeng Regional Congress takes place in the context of Numsa celebrating its 25th Anniversary. Congress also happened in the context of a growing National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa which has reached a membership of 300 389 up from 236 000 members in 2008 amidst conditions of retrenchments and factory closures.
Why workers join trade unions:
As Numsa we subscribe to the wisdom of the late SACP General Secretary, Joe Slovo, who in his seminal work of 1988 - The South African Working Class and the National Democratic Revolution - said this about the role of trade unions;
"A trade union is the prime mass organisation of the working class. To fulfill its purpose, it must be as broad as possible and fight to maintain its legal status. It must attempt, in the first place, to unite, on an industrial basis, all workers (at whatever level of political consciousness) who understand the elementary need to come together and defend and advance their economic conditions. It cannot demand more as a condition of membership. But because the state and its political and repressive apparatus is an instrument of the dominant economic classes, it is impossible for trade unions in any part of the world to keep out of the broader political conflict."
We reaffirm as Numsa that we shall continue to fight shopfloor battles that seeks to roll back the gains of metalworkers, to fight any political offensive that attack the interest of the working class and to fight against any economic policy that seeks to entrench the interest of the capitalist class.
We are not workerists, we are not ultra leftists, we are not demagogues and we are not populists. We are a progressive, internationalist, militant, revolutionary, worker controlled and democratic trade union. We shall remain Red.
The Anti Working Class Agenda of the DA:
The Numsa Sedibeng Regional Congress noticed that the DA has declared war on COSATU simply because COSATU calls for the banning of Labour Brokers, rejection of E-toll system and the rejection of the Youth Wage Subsidy. The message for the DA from the Numsa Sedibeng Regional Congress is simply this: You as the DA want to defend the interest of the exploiting capitalist class and the elite in South Africa against the working class who suffers the triple crises of unemployment, poverty and inequalities.
The working class shall respond with resoluteness and militancy to the DA attack on COSATU and intensify our fight against labour legislation that seeks to destroy the gains of workers in South Africa since the 1994 democratic. Mindful that the DA has captured MIDVAAL, in the 2011 local government elections, Congress commit itself on behalf of all metalworkers in Sedibeng to work for the removal of the DA from local government in MIDVAAL on the basis that the DA can never deliver decent service to the masses of our people.
We also declare war on MIDVAAL companies who are exploiting our members and allow workers to work in unsafe and unhealthy conditions in their workplaces. We will take the fight to them.
Working class leadership of the African National Congress:
Congress reaffirms the fact that the working class constitutes the motive force of the National Democratic Revolution and remain the primary constituency of the African National Congress. It is the working class who returns the ANC into power every 5 years since 1994. It is in this regard that we have correct resolutions in Numsa and Cosatu that workers and the broader working class must swell the ranks of the ANC and therefore ensure the working class assume leadership ANC. For this we make no apology. We shall work hard towards the ANC National Policy Conference and the Mangaung National Conference to ensure that the ANC once more drive a revolutionary program with the express aim of implementing the fullest implementation of the Freedom Charter. This must of necessity include the Nationalisation of Mines, Banks and key strategic sectors in the South African such as Sasol, Arcelor Mittal and others.
Building a strong SACP:
We were honoured by the SACP who delivered a powerful message of support. The Congress committed itself in re-building our vanguard party of the working class, the SACP, to be rooted amongst popular class battles faced by the working class and the poor in factories, communities and internationally. The Congress held a firm view that the SACP is the political insurance and guarantor for the struggle for Socialism in our country. The Congress called on the SACP to play its vanguard role for the consolidation and deepening of an uninterrupted and radical socialist orientated National Democratic Revolution (NDR) to usher a Socialist Republic of South Africa.The Congress further called on the SACP to strive for maximum unity amongst the two leading working class formations at the helm of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the SACP itself.
In defence of Cosatu and its leadership:
We were privileged to be addressed by the Numsa General Secretary and the Cosatu General Secretary who articulated very well why Cosatu remain the spear and shield of workers in the midst of the triple crises of unemployment, poverty and inequality in our land. We note that Cosatu continue to be attacked by internal and external forces simply because our Federation has remained consistent and principled on the worsening conditions that confront the working class and the poor. When we say no to e-tolling - we are labelled; when we say no to the youth wage subsidy - we are labelled; when we say no to labour broking - we are labelled - when we call for a complete break from GEAR - we are labelled.
We salute the many improvements brought about by our ANC government since the 1994 democratic breakthrough BUT we want to register the fact that the white monopoly capital, foreign interest and a few black elites have handsomely benefited from our democracy. Whereas we can celebrate political freedom, it is a stated fact that economic freedom in the second decade of our freedom remain in the hands of white monopoly capital.
Trough our massive strike on 7th March 2012 against e-tolling and banning of labour brokers we have succeeded in getting advantageous concessions in the bilateral negotiations between the ANC and COSATU. Our consistent working class struggle must continue to build working class struggle.
The privilege to lead metalworkers' workers in all fronts of struggle:
Congress appreciate that in a democratic organisation such as Numsa it is a privilege to lead workers - it is not a birth right. Individuals come and go but Numsa shall always remain. Numsa has a solid tradition of democratic debate, respecting and carrying the mandates, report to members and accountability. We reaffirm Numsa's commitment to democratic centralism and reject tendencies of factionalism.
Congress on Organisational Renewal within the Region:
The Congress was unambiguous that the unity of purpose should become a central call to ensure that we provide proper service to metalworkers, democratic worker control and improved service of official to NUMSA members thereby ensuring organisational renewal. The Regional Congress committed itself to intensify and mass roll-out of political and ideological education training premised on our Marxist Leninist orientation. NUMSA as a revolutionary trade union must train its cadres such that they become all rounded activists, politically and organisationally. These efforts must ensure that the NUMSAYD and GENDER structures becomes political schools for young workers, women and men in our metalworkers union as well as building a new cadre and second layer leadership. Regional Congress subscribes to the development of a new cadre that must be truthful, faithful to the organisation, loyal to its membership, fulfil any task given, overcome any difficulty and above all defeat the enemy of the organisation and its members. Congress resolves to overcome all theories of reactionaries which separate theory from practice.
Towards the Numsa 9th National Congress:
The Numsa Sedibeng Regional Congress awaits with excitement the coming of the Numsa 9th National Congress as a parliament of metalworkers in South Africa. We are confident and convinced that we would have collectively achieved the mandate from the October 2008 Numsa 8th National Congress, which is;
"....to ensure that Numsa become once more a visible, campaigning and militant UNION capable of leading workers struggles as our overall contribution to the working class struggle to build working class power."
As the Numsa Sedibeng Region proceed to our Numsa 9th National Congress with maximum unity, unity of purpose and conviction that we have delivered on the mandate of the October 2008 Numsa 8th National Congress.
Forward Ever - Backward Never
Issued by Karl Kloete, NUMSA Deputy General Secretary, May 6 2012
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
