NUMSA condemns Sunday World for publishing fake news
28 March 2022
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has noted an article published in the Sunday World on the 27th of March. The headline reads "COSATU woos NUMSA as SAFTU implodes". In the article the journalist, George Matlala falsely claims that there are talks taking place with the leadership of NEHAWU and NUMSA, for the union to return to COSATU. The journalist then goes on to peddle the lie that it is these so-called behind the scenes negotiations that are to blame for the "implosion" at SAFTU.
We want to state for the record there is no truth to these allegations. George Matlala sent questions to the NUMSA leadership where he asked us to confirm or deny if the allegation that NUMSA is in talks to return to COSATU are true. Comrade Irvin Jim the General Secretary of NUMSA was explicit about rubbishing these absurd allegations, when he said: "My response to you is that this is a lie, there has not been such a discussion." But despite this very clear reply, the journalist went on to publish this nonsense.
The facts are as follows. Comrade Irvin Jim greeted the general secretary of NEHAWU comrade Zola Saphetha at the SAFTU NEC meeting on Thursday last week, and spoke to him briefly for not more than 5 minutes. That greeting has now been interpreted as confirmation that NUMSA is in discussions to return to COSATU. How absurd! We reject these allegations with the contempt they deserve. George Matlala and the Sunday World are churning out rumors and gossip, and dressing it up as news. But this is not surprising. Sunday World is after all, a sensationalist tabloid rag, so we should not be surprised that their desperation to sell copy, has reduced them to peddlers of fake news, and that is why they published this drivel.
We want to state very clearly for the record there are no talks, and there have never been any talks by the leadership of NUMSA to negotiate a return to COSATU. This is clearly a campaign by enemies of the union to drive a wedge between the union leadership and its members. These enemies are using the media to influence the upcoming national congress in the hope that they can anoint their own successors, by casting aspersions on the current leadership of the union.
The same agents have made the ridiculous claim that NUMSA's obsession with SRWP is the reason that SAFTU is imploding. They claim that NUMSA, through the General Secretary, is attempting to impose the SRWP onto SAFTU. Again, this is blatantly false because SAFTU has a very clear position on political parties. The federation is independent and has not aligned itself with any political party.
At the same time, there are others, who are politically bankrupt, who peddle the ridiculous claim that the NUMSA leadership is working 24/7 with RET faction of the ANC. How can the NUMSA leadership be said to be negotiating a return to COSATU, but at the same time, it is also being accused of trying to impose SRWP on SAFTU, and at the same time it's a member of the RET? This is why we are dismissing these claims and we urge our
members to do the same because they are simply stupid and senseless. This is the work of divisive wedge drivers who are tip toeing in the shadows and are who are working night and day to divide NUMSA and to liquidate the federation SAFTU. They are desperately throwing mud in the hope that some of it will stick. Unfortunately for them, the truth will always prevail.
We think it is important to give a brief history lesson for the benefit of senior political journalists like George Matlala who should know better, of the facts. In 2013 at its Special National Congress NUMSA took a bold decision to reject the ANC and the alliance.
We did so because after having spent years in the tripartite alliance, we realized that the governing ANC was using labour to rubber stamp its hostile, anti-black, and anti-working class agenda. The ANC has been attacking the working class by pursuing GEAR and now the NDP — both of which are neo-liberal economic policies which have been destroying and eroding the rights and the gains made by workers in the workplace.
At the same congress, NUMSA resolved to establish a political party and an independent federation which would be sword and a spear to defend the working class and drive a genuine socialist agenda. For choosing the working class, and acting with courage, COSATU expelled NUMSA in 2014 for taking this bold decision. NUMSA subsequently gave birth to SAFTU and later the SRWP and even contested the national elections.
In spite of the difficulties we have experienced since being expelled from COSATU, NUMSA has managed to maintain its independence and its militancy and has achieved some of the following gains:
2. We signed a groundbreaking agreement with Harmony Gold last year which will enable the lowest paid workers at Harmony Gold to earn an average of R13 478 by the third year of the agreement. This was a significant milestone because mineworkers at Marikana had declared R12500 to be a living wage and they died fighting for that demand. In line with the agreement which was signed, the lowest paid workers will receive a minimum R1000 increase year on year for the next three years. Since NUMSA expanded its scope and started organizing in the mining sector, we are making a positive impact in the lives of mineworkers.
3. We won a landmark court case at the constitutional court in 2018 declaring that Labour brokers can only exploit workers for three months, and affirming the rights of contract and temporary workers. This decision by the highest court of the land confirmed once and for all that Labour brokers can only be used for three months, and after that, those contracts must be converted to permanent contracts thereafter, something which the working class has been desperate to achieve. NUMSA made this happen.
4. Together with SAFTU we staged the biggest post-apartheid strike in 2018 to protest against changes to the labour law and the to defend the right to strike.
Based on these achievements and others, we clearly do not need COSATU, even though they seemingly want us back. We are not going back. NUMSA paid dearly for taking this difficult decision, but we have remained resolute and faithful to that moment We are determined to forge ahead and we continue to reject the ANC. We will not be deterred from our mission which
is to unite the working class, in order to achieve the goal of a socialist society in our lifetime. We will not be distracted from the work we do every day which is to unapologetically fight for a better fife for workers and their families.
There are likely to be more attacks between now and the congress. We call on NUMSA members to be resolute and to defend the union and its resolutions from these baseless, senseless attacks from those who wish to destroy the organization with their lies.
Aluta continua!
Issued by Irvin Jim, NUMSA General Secretary, 28 March 2022
