NEHAWU SPECIAL NATIONAL CONGRESS STATEMENT
SUNDAY, 08 JUNE, 2014
NEHAWU held a very successful and united Special National Congress {SNC}on the 06th of June 2014 at the Birchwood Hotel in Johannesburg under the broad strategic line of march of our 10th national congress and its programmatic banner, "build strong workplace organization, class consciousness and internationalism. Over 587 delegates representing 279 129 members attended the special congress, to assess the 2014 national elections and also elect new leaders to the vacant positions in our national office bearer collective, left by our departed leaders to parliament.
The departed leaders join legions of others that have been released by our federation since 1994. As a union ,we are proud of the fact that these cadres that we rightfully claim as products of our own have earned the confidence of the ANC and indeed of the broader masses of our people. This growing corps of worker cadreship within the ANC underscores the progress of our swelling-the-ranks project, as outlined in the medium-term strategy of our federation, the 2015 Plan.
The Special National Congress received valuable addresses from our reliable Alliance formations, including the welcoming address by the Gauteng Premier, David Makhura. The union appreciated and took note of the points made by the Deputy President of the ANC Cde Cyril Ramaphosa, General Secretary of SACP Blade Nzimande and the President of COSATU, Sdumo Dlamini.
The congress congratulated all NEHAWU members for a sterling role that they played in the 2014 election campaign. We believe that the overwhelming victory of the ANC has struck a devastating blow against the detractors and enemies of our revolution, be they on the right in the anti-majoritarian offensive or those who claim to be the genuine custodians of our revolution. In this vein, we join the SACP in calling for the resignation from our democratic parliament the DA's racist bigot, Mike Waters.
We are conscious of the fact that an electoral contest is but one site of struggle for political power in which the working class can only successfully exert its influence and build its hegemony if it is able to successfully combine the struggles within and through the state with stronger organizational power in communities, at the workplace and in other key sites of power.
Going forward the SNC declared that both our union and COSATU must begin to grapple with the implications of the momentous transitional conference of the ANC in 2017, and closely reflect on our capacity and approach to our swelling-the-ranks project.
Organisationally
Our 10th congress has already given us a strategic line of march through the resolutions that it passed and our battle cry, "build strong workplace organisation, class consciousness and internationalism"! The 2013 Central Executive Committee has translated these injunctions into a concrete programme of action up to the 11th congress in 2017, which would be the end of the tenure of our reinforced national leadership collective.
Whilst enormous strides have been made since our 10th congress, the Special National Congress called on the national union to accelerate the implementation of the 2014 programme of action, especially with regard to the branch congresses as this is the foundational phase of the renewal of our union, in the midst of a rapidly changing terrain of trade union work.
We shall continue with the training of the newly elected shopstewards to cover all our provinces, which must be combined with ideological and political training to build class consciousness and proletarian internationalism. We shall also expedite the review of our paralegal strategy because our members are the life-blood of the union, and as such we undertake to continue with building our organisational machinery in order to provide better service to our members.
As part of our 2014 programme of action, we undertake to convene the second set of bargaining forums to finalise demands in the public service negotiation by the end of July and to table to the employer in August 2014. This we shall do working with the COSATU JMC. Similarly, as NEHAWU we reject the proposed amendments to the public service pension laws, and in this regard we shall work with the COSATU JMC in demanding consultation on the matter.
The Special National Congress concluded that the bulk of our resources will be devoted to organising and servicing our members going forward. The sustainable management and fruitful deployment of our resources must particularly be directed at escalating our recruitment campaign, which we pledge to intensify especially amongst the nurses, for whom NEHAWU must become their only home. At the same time, we commit ourselves to fight business unionism within our union and within COSATU.
Cosatu
The Special National Congress expressed concern about the ongoing internal challenges facing COSATU, including within several of its affiliates. Whilst we welcome the intervention of the ANC, we know that ultimately the restoration of unity and cohesion squarely falls upon the shoulders of COSATU and all its affiliates. As such, we shall steadfastly continue to proclaim and practice our commitment to the principle that the unity and cohesion of the federation is sacrosanct.
Nonetheless, we are under no illusions as to the difficulties facing COSATU, hence we maintain that all options remain on the table, in line with the mandates of the 10th congress and 2013 Central Executive Committee. As part of preparations for COSATU's 12th congress in 2015, we believe that there is a need for the federation to undertake a comprehensive study focused on developing a deeper understanding of the present realities facing workers and the changes that are taking place in the labour force, 20 years after the demise of Apartheid. From this and the ongoing practical engagement with our members, must emerge a concrete medium-term strategy that must help COSATU and all its affiliates to dynamically adapt to the ongoing changes that are taking place in our economy and the workforce.
Socio-economically
NEHAWU is convinced that our country stands on a threshold of a radical phase in its democratic transition, yet we are under no illusions as we know that fundamental transformation in our society requires maximum unity of the ANC-led Alliance, ongoing mass mobilization of the working class and resolute leadership inside and outside of government. We are concerned about the state of the economy, which continues to leave millions of our people unemployed and in grinding poverty. We support the call by the SACP for a Mining Indaba, which amongst others must focus on the working and living conditions of the mine workers and the key recommendations of the ANC's SIMS report.
More importantly, we call on the state to take decisive measures against those who continue to kill workers in communities around the platinum belt. We call on the fifth democratic government of the ANC to faithfully and resolutely implement all the seven pillars of the manifesto over the next five years, which has been endorsed by the overwhelming majority of our people. On our part as a union, we have a duty to pursue our strategic vocation of building a powerful, independent, class-oriented and militant public sector union which has a central role to play in the process of building a developmental state as part of the drive to forge a radical phase of the democratic transition.
The Special National Congress briefly reflected on the developments globally as well as on our continent. We express concern about the ongoing aggression of western imperialism against Russia on the Ukraine crisis and China on the disputes in the South China Sea. In the international trade union movement, we undertake to conduct a deeper analysis of the outcomes of the recently held 3rd congress of ITUC, with a view to develop an informed perspective on our current affiliation both through COSATU and the Public Service International. We remain committed to our long-term goal of building a strong presence of WFTU on our continent and this must be enhanced by the affiliation of COSATU without further delay, in line with the mandate of its 11th congress.
We are concerned about the destabilization of Africa by the increasing presence of western military forces, in particular in West Africa, where there is also a rise of terrorist banditry. In this regard, we pledge our solidarity with the people of Nigeria and join them in their call for the immediate release of the hijacked girls unharmed.
Conclusion
Our union emerges from the Special National Congress more united and determined to go back to the implementation of our programme of action, in particularly its organizational pillar. Our message to the ANC-led Alliance, to the Mass Democratic Movement, as well as our allies, both at home and abroad is that we have no option but to close ranks. As we pursue our lofty strategic objectives of the second phase of our democratic transition, we say as never before, that we need to move arm-in-arm, shoulder-to-shoulder, with all our allies, friends and supporters.
The National leadership collective of NEHAWU is as follows:
President Mzwandile Michael Makwayiba
1st Deputy Michael Shingange
2nd Deputy Nyameka Macangca
National Trasurer. Kgomotsho Makuphola
General Secretary , Bereng Soke
Deputy Secratary ,Zola Saphetha
MaMbeki
NEHAWU is extremely saddened to hear of the passing away of former ANC veteran and struggle stalwart Mama Epainette Nomaka Mbeki {MaMbeki} We send our deepest and heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and comrades and we call on all South Africans, workers and especially young people to honour this devoted community worker by continuing with her work and adopting a culture of service.
MaMbeki was a fearless champion of the poor and dedicated her life to fighting for justice and spent her later years as a dedicated community worker who personified grace, dignity and integrity. We owe it to heroines like MaMbeki to continue to fight for the full economic emancipation of the poor majority.
Statement issued by Bereng Soke, NEHAWU General Secretary, June 8 2014
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