SATAWU Post CEC Press Statement - 26 August 2012
The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) held its special Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting on the 25th August 2012 under the theme "advancing unity and cohesion towards a strong SATAWU," with a specific focus to provide leadership and instill confidence in the more than 170 000 members of the union across all the sectors in which it organizes. The special CEC took a place at the most difficult times where the workers are in the pressure pot of brutal attacks by capitalism expressed through violence imposed on them by the police, divide and rule tactics by employers and further degradation of their dignity by ever dropping decent wages. It is in these difficult times that the working class deserves decisive leadership for highest forms of morale and discipline.
The special CEC took an opportunity to send heartfelt condolences to our sister affiliate in COSATU, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in relation to the Marikana mine tragedy. While we condemn any form of violent ridden protest action, we detest the butchering of workers at Marikana. These are the repercussions we would like to avoid at all costs with regards renegades who fleeced our union and are on a mission to also mislead our members to engage into violence.
The special CEC received a report about its former president with regards to his alleged reasons for his resignation from the union. Mphahlele has actually not resigned from the union, but cowardly chickened out to avoid the special CEC's investigation into his conduct. The CEC has so far rejected his resignation and has expelled him and took away his membership from SATAWU, this will also happen to his remaining few lieutenants posing as shopstewards while busy recruiting for their anarchy union, Natawu. That union is nothing but a product of rebels, renegades and it is anchored on selfish individuals who seek positions of leadership and privilege by hook or crook. Its leaders are violent thirsty characters that actively embrace belligerence, lawlessness and anarchy as a new bizarre tendency in trade unionism.
Mr Mpahlele, who used the SATAWU resources and his previous position to start the rival union, has a penchant for lustrous political power, which he unfortunately failed to indulge within the strictly disciplined leadership collective of SATAWU. He had a different expectation of the role of the president which sadly for him was about being at the center of financial control for him to dispense political patronage, political skirmishes such as participating into the factional divisional foul play in the federation and the alliance and also ambitions to have a leadership position at COSATU NOB level before he could even complete a year as the newly elected president of SATAWU. The special CEC resolved to desist away from the focus on him but rather concentrate on providing quality service and rapid response to our members in the workplaces.
Department of Labour
On the department of labour we are concerned about the timing of the release of their report alleging the threats of deregistration of COSATU unions just on the eve of its influential national congress. We believe that this is a ploy to silence COSATU and slowly turn it into a weak mouthpiece of the downtrodden and the exploited. At the core of this are a few leaders amongst our ranks who have lost debates and seek to influence the decisions of the unions through manipulating the department to intimidate us. We have submitted all the necessary documentation as required by the department in so far as stipulated by the legislation. We suspect that here is collusion between the department and our class antagonists; therefore the department is becoming an instrument of working class oppression. We will use our collective power in the federation to fight this.
Road Freight Bargaining Process
The road freight employers association has become a serial perpetrator of intransigence and its imperviousness to decent boardroom negotiations will bring it to its knees in the following week as our members embark on a nationwide protest action in the sector. We started the negotiations with them in June already and there seems to be no sign of movement on their part to consider an above inflation wage increase for the workers. Their worst violation is their refusal to allow office-based workers to be represented by the unions during the negotiations. We will have our last meeting with them at the CCMA next Wednesday before we mobilize for an industrial action.
Leadership of SATAWU
The special CEC expressed its full confidence in the National Office Bearers and the Secretariat as led by the General Secretary and the Deputy General Secretary. The special CEC has resolved on leadership matters that comrade June Dube become the acting president, while Kate Matlou remain the second deputy president. The special CEC endorsed the newly elected Gauteng Chairperson comrade Phindile Radebe and her Deputy Gladstone Geqeza.
Preparations for COSATU Congress
The special CEC has noted and accepted the progress in relation to the forthcoming COSATU National Congress. SATAWU as the fifth largest COSATU affiliate will be submitting resolutions at the congress amongst them 1. Campaign against Racism, 2. Taxi Industry and its Violence, 3. Transformation of the Judiciary, 4. Road Carnage and Arrive Alive Campaign, 5. Reliable Affordable Safe Public Transport. SATAWU would like to maintain unity and stability in the federation. In its tireless efforts of consolidating working class power and defending the downtrodden, the federation was led properly and we would like to maintain that leadership collective.
Unity in the National Liberation Movement
It is in the interest of every peace loving South African to see the ANC united. It is in the interest of our democracy to preserve the cohesion of our liberation movement. It is our duty as an organized working class component of the alliance to defend the leadership and unity of the ANC as a principle of advancing the national democratic revolution going into the ANC's elective national conference and beyond. The special CEC resolved to support the current leadership of the ANC as elected from Polokwane and prefers continuity and a second term for the current leadership collective. The ANC has a responsibility to deliver a national democratic society that cares for the majority citizens, the working class; for that task to fully become a reality we will all rally behind it and ensure that there is unity of purpose.
Statement issued by Vincent Masoga, Acting National Media Officer, SATAWU, August 26 2012
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