COSATU’s End-of-Year Statement for 2018
The Congress of South African Trade Unions wishes all its members, workers and the rest of South Africans a restful and happy holiday season. We wish all those who will be travelling by trains, planes and by the roads, a safe journey. This is the time to take some time out to relax and spend some time with family and loved ones.
We caution everyone against engaging in alcohol abuse and needless expenditure during this festive period. We call on employers to award workers enough days to rest with their loved ones and also pay them their bonuses and other necessary remuneration after a very difficult year.
The year 2018 has been a very difficult year for the workers in general, with our economy continuing to shed jobs, resulting in growing inequality and deepening poverty.
COSATU has continued to defy all predictions by growing from strength to strength. This year we successfully convened nine provincial congresses and a four day 13th National Congress. The 13th National Congress made history by electing three women and three males in the top six positions, showing that the federation is leading by example when it comes to gender parity. The federation also, for the first time, elected the first female president. These successful congresses are a reminder that COSATU is still very much a united, activist and powerful worker controlled federation.
We saw huge progress in uniting and sorting out some internal issues that troubled some of our affiliated unions. The financial position of the federation has stabilised and has shown some significant improvement despite the continuing job losses in both the private and the public sector.
What has come out clear in the last year is that COSATU has fully understood the workers’ message that calls for a change in mindset. We have shown again that we are focusing more on meeting the expectations of our members at the workplace, including fighting for greater job protection and living wages. The department of labour’s Industrial Action report showed that COSATU continues to be the most militant and fighting worker organisation in the country.
We also appreciate and recognise that we are trying to achieve all of this under qualitatively different conditions, which include the steady decline in the rate of unionisation, dire economic situation, the fragmentation and mushrooming of new trade unions.
The situation in the country is not getting any better with the economy continuing to limp and the scourge of corruption continuing to strike at the foundations of our democracy and our economy.
The nation has been learning more about the extent of corruption from the State Capture Commission of Inquiry that is led by Judge Zondo. This Commission is exceptionally significant for our growing democracy because it shines the spotlight on the level of influence, corruption and political meddling by some sections of business in our government’s affairs. We need to ensure that we support this commission and the overall fight against corruption if we are to win the fight against the naked looting our resources, poverty and inequality.
We saw the re-emergence of load shedding that seriously undermined the growth potential of the economy and threatened jobs.
In the public service, we are seeing austerity measures that have seen government on offensive attacking nurses, teachers, police officers, cleaners and other workers for wanting to earn a decent wage in the public service. We have to get ready for a difficult 2019 in the public service, if the National Treasury’s attitude is anything to go by.
Our battles have not just been limited to workplace issues, but we also made our presence felt in the policy terrain. We can look back at 2018 and be proud of the role that COSATU played to bring about the National Minimum Wage, Basic Conditions of Employment, Labour Relations and Labour Amendment Acts.
It is COSATU working with other federations that has successfully forced government and business into negotiations for a legislated National Minimum Wage and made sure that those who were hell-bent on undermining and ultimately killing the National Minimum Wage failed.
The National Minimum Wage and Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Acts will see the wages of almost half of all workers or 6.4 million rise. They will see farm and domestic workers’ wages fast tracked to the NMW within 2 years. This will be a major cash injection into workers’ pockets and thus a badly stimulus in the local economy. Employers who don’t comply will face escalating fines unless they applied for and qualified for exemptions.
Labour Relations Amendment Act will see collective agreements extended to outsourced workers where unions are deemed sufficiently representative but not yet 51%.
It will see workers’ rights to picket and strike strengthened and protected and the advisory arbitration role of the CCMA strengthened where recalcitrant employers refuse to negotiate with workers.
Under the Labour Laws Amendment Act, workers will now have the right to 10 days paid parental and paternity leave when one’s child is born and 10 weeks adoption leave when legally adopting a child 2 years and younger. It will see UIF benefits for workers losing their jobs increase from 8 to 12 months. It will see women covered by maternity leave when having a still born birth or third trimester miscarriage. It will see maternity leave payments increase from 54% to 66% of salaries within the thresholds. This will see billions of Rands released from the UIF into workers’ hands and thus spur local economic growth. It will see UIF protection extended to public servants and a healthy boost to the UIF through their contributions. This will allow further future expansion of access to the UIF and its protections for workers. This is the most progressive overhaul of the labour regime since 1995.
The battle for NHI is on and the workers should ready themselves for a bruising battle ahead. There are worrying signs that government is capitulating to the private medical industry and is starting to water down the badly needed National Health Insurance {NHI
The department has also been systematically continuing to sideline and dismiss the supporters of NHI inside the department and replace them with the NHI sceptics.
We dismiss the argument that here is not enough money to rollout the NHI. We are already spending over 8.5 % of our gross domestic product on health care in both the private and public sectors. Currently, the cost of private health care in South Africa is ranked as the most expensive in the world, even higher than in the USA. In addition to the influence of the profit motive this is also caused by the structural issues in the absence of a public mechanism of setting tariffs or prices on private hospital groups. Next year we need to be ready to:
- Push for and ultimately achieve the Comprehensive Social Security System.
- Push back against calls for the privatization of state –owned –entities
- Push back against government’s adherence to the current Neoliberal paradigm. The National Treasury is opportunistically trying to use the low economic growth and declining revenue collected, as a pretext to lobby for the permanent scrapping of some progressive policy imperatives.
- Push back against the rising cost of living has been rising, with severe impact on poor households that on average spend 34% of their income on food. This is taking place in the context where around half of the population is poor and experiencing food insecurity and hunger.
- Fight retrenchments in both the private and public sector. The last CEC meeting resolved to start the mobilisation process against retrenchments that will culminate on a national strike on the 13th of February next year.
On the political front it is still worrying to see that our movement continues to be preoccupied with its internal challenges and continues to becaught up in a relentless partisan fighting and political gridlock. The immediate priority for the federation is to strengthen the alliance and contribute to the process of uniting and strengthening the African National Congress.
We look forward to the ANC NEC January 8 Statement to be delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Durban, KwaZulu Natal. The focus of this statement should be on growing the economy and employment creation at a time, when millions of South Africans are living below poverty line. The ANC NEC should lead society by preparing a visionary statement that is focused on dealing with the triple crisis of unemployment, inequality and deepening poverty. We call on our members, especially in the province of KZN to help mobilise for a successful January 8 celebrations. We also call on them to get ready to implement our 13th National Congress resolution to mobilise for the ANC in the upcoming national general elections next year. The next year’s national general elections are going to be very difficult and the unity of the ANC and the Alliance is imperative.
The Alliance is continuing to engage on the process of reconfiguration that is very crucial. We shall continue to influence this process by mobilising and acting to ensure that the Alliance is responsive to the needs of the working class. We will do so by frankly engaging with our Alliance partners; and we will defend them when it’s necessary but also criticise them when there is a need to do so. All of our actions shall at all times be informed by the need to unite the Alliance and also ensure that the goals and aspirations of the working class are prioritised
We recognise the fact that our nation is passing through a special period, which demands extraordinary dedication and urgency on the part of all social partners in defence of its founding principles. The task of rebuilding this country lies on all of us working together.
We also need to join hands in fighting the scourge of road accidents that are maiming and killing thousands of people every year. We urge motorists and pedestrians to ensure that they avoid drinking and driving and make sure that reckless driving is curbed during these holidays. We also urge all South Africans to fight against the scourge of violence against women and children.
As workers enjoy their holidays, they should also ready themselves for the battles that lie ahead and remember that both the centres of business and political power concede nothing without a demand and will give nothing away if a demand comes from a weak and divided constituency.We should also not forget to offer practical solidarity to vulnerable families, who have lost their livelihoods due to job losses.
We should share with the poor and remember that there are more than 8 million unemployed people in this country and they will be struggling to make ends meet during this period. The principles of unity and solidarity should continue to guide us, as we enjoy this festive holiday season.
Happy holidays to all South Africans and a happy new year.
Issued by COSATU, 21 December 2018
