South African Communist Party, Message to COSATU Special National Congress, 13 July 2015, as delivered by Deputy National Chairperson, Comrade Thulas Nxesi, Deputy Chair SACP, July 14 2015
Chair/Programme Director;
Leadership of COSATU;
Leadership and representatives of the Alliance partners: ANC, SANCO and SACP;
Delegates and comrades;
Allow me to convey revolutionary greetings from the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party – newly invigorated from our own Special Congress. I want to thank COSATU for this opportunity to share ideas – and I want to repeat the pledge of our General Secretary: that COSATU can depend on the support of the SACP as a reliable ally in good times and when the going gets tough.
I need to emphasise that point – because not all comrades are reliable. For three decades the former Finance Minister [Trevor Manuel] operated at the highest level of the Alliance – indeed, he was a creation of this same Alliance. During that time not once did he raise his misgivings with the SACP and the Alliance. Only now does he run to the capitalist media to recycle old stories based on out-dated information. This smacks of either cowardice or duplicity. Comrades, we must beware that the ‘1996 class project’ does not try to exploit tensions within our movement in order to stage a come-back.
This congress is taking place just a few weeks after Freedom Day – the 26th June. That date may not mean much to the younger people, but the older people present will remember that – in the years before the 1994 elections – June 26th was known, internationally, as ‘South African Freedom Day. It has a long and proud history:
Beginning in 1950 with national protests against the repression of the Apartheid government and the slaughter of people taking part in a May Day march organised by the then CPSA;
In 1952 the ANC launched the Defiance Campaign on June 26th;
In 1955 the Freedom Charter was adopted on the 26th June.
I mention this because I want us all to remember the proud political tradition we come from; the leaders that came before; and those who fought and sacrificed so that we might know freedom – and the long years of political struggle that have brought us to where we are today. We have a duty to fight to defend the tradition of the Freedom Charter:
Against the onslaught of monopoly capital and neo-liberalism designed to undermine labour organisation;
Against the right-wing anti-majoritarian media attacks on our movement; and
Against the confusion spread by the ultra-left opportunists.
Challenges facing the Alliance: ‘the sins of incumbency’
In considering the organisational challenges facing the Alliance I want to draw on a document prepared by the Limpopo Provincial ANC at the time of the 2014 elections entitled: Organisational Renewal – Vision 2018 – written with the ANC in mind – but equally applicable to all sections of the Alliance:
The Document refers to “Our Fatal Organisational Weaknesses”. Seven dangers are listed:
1. the danger of social distance and isolation of the party from the mass base;
2. the danger of state bureaucratisation and demobilisation of the masses;
3. the danger of corruption and patronage;
4. the danger of institutionalised factionalism, ill-discipline and disunity fuelled and inspired by the battles over the control of state power and resources.
5. the danger of using state institutions to settle internal party differences;
6. the danger of neglecting cadre development; and
7. the danger of lack of capacity and capability to implement policies in order to rapidly improve the socio-economic conditions of our people.
This analysis was done with the ANC in mind – but the same factional and incorrect behaviour has permeated throughout the Alliance – most seriously within COSATU – even the SACP is not immune.
What do these organisational challenges mean to us – as the leadership and cadres of the Alliance? I believe that the very real organisational dangers – these fatal weaknesses – require that true cadres have to stand up and be counted. On a practical level:
On corruption - As the Alliance, we have to be the first to expose and condemn corruption – in all its forms. If we are seen to be indecisive on this crucial matter of corruption, then other forces – opportunists from right and left – will fill the vacuum. One of the causes of the divisions in the labour movement is what we have called ‘business unionism’ – union leaders fighting over business opportunities and perks. Comrades, step away from those tenders. If you hold political office – you have no business being in business – especially where there is conflict of interest.
At the Party Congress we discussed this matter and the view was: Reduce out-sourcing and tenders – particularly at local level – and where possible simply employ people directly, or work with cooperatives. This would be in areas such as security, maintenance of roads and buildings and school feeding schemes.
Secondly - As leadership – we must be in the forefront of mass work and the tasks of political education. You can never be too busy – or too important – to undertake these tasks. We have to reassert the tactics and strategy of mass mobilisation and campaigns – tactics which made our organisations strong in the past.
On the issue of political education the Party Congress, called for comprehensive political education of members and also proposed joint education with COSATU – in the first instance – which could be later extended across the Alliance as a whole.
Third - We need to interrogate how we behave towards other comrades. Where we have differences – we deal with these through the tradition of open and robust political debate. But when as a movement we take a decision – then we work together – as one – to implement that decision or programme. This, comrades – put simply – is the meaning of democratic centralism.
Fourth - As a priority we have to nurture, protect, strengthen and defend the unity of our organisations and the broader Alliance. Let us never forget that it was this mighty Alliance which brought down the Apartheid regime. It remains the only vehicle capable of defending the gains of the National Democratic Revolution and taking us forward into a second more radical phase of transition.
Challenges facing the labour movement
The challenges facing labour are many and varied – and for this I will draw upon the discussion paper: “Meeting the challenges facing the trade union movement” (Published in the June 2015 edition of African Communist:
At a structural level – since the late 20th century - there has been a massive onslaught by capital against labour – associated with capitalist globalisation and neo-liberalism. The resulting restructuring of production processes and labour markets has pushed back the gains of trade unions through:
Mass retrenchments;
Casualisation;
Informalisation; and
Labour brokers.
Meanwhile monopoly capital – aided and abetted by the 1996 class project – was able to maximise its profits and minimise its contribution to the development of South Africa through a number of strategies:
Massive disinvestment;
Foreign stock exchange listings;
Tax evasion; and
Restructuring of production processes and labour markets. For example:
Between 2000 and 2013 the number of permanent jobs declined by 1.9 million whilst the number of temporary jobs increased by 2.6 million;
Exploiting ‘illegals’ desperate work seekers displaced across national borders by imperialist-driven structural adjustment programmes and wars.
Some of the other challenges faced by the labour movement include:
Growing bureaucratisation and distance from members – as unions became larger and focused energy on the running of the organisation – rather than the organisation of the members.
Careerism and abuse of positions for personal gain, also resulting in personality cults – so that individuals become more important than the organisation – and loyalty to particular leaders (or factions) replaced loyalty to the organisation and the movement.
The greatest danger of all, currently, is the advent of what we have called ‘business unionism’. Let me quote from the discussion paper in African Communist:
The major unions all have nominal control over multi-billion rand retirement funds. These, in turn, have been leveraged to set up union investment arms. In principle, if subjected to democratic worker control and guided by clear strategic objectives, these investment arms have the potential to be a critical pillar of a solidarity economy – investing, for instance, in desperately needed social wage assets like affordable public transport or public housing. Sadly, in practice, they have often become entry-points through which the capitalist class has inserted its DNA into the head-offices of many unions. Much of the recent turmoil within Cosatu affiliates is to be located in competing factions seeking to control these resources.
Building a strong democratic worker-controlled union
As you begin this COSATU Special Congress, I have no doubt that you will be addressing many of the themes I have raised:
The back to basics call – in relation to organisation -which COSATU has made;
The optimal functioning of the Tripartite Alliance – which must include developing an effective joint programme of action – including in between elections.
On this, the Alliance Summit process is taking us forward. We said that provincial Alliance Summits – working with the Alliance Political Council – will debate and develop a concrete joint programme of action for the Alliance. As COSATU you must use this opportunity to raise your challenges – so that instead of in-fighting - we begin to focus on the real issues facing the working class:
The triple crisis of unemployment, poverty and inequality
Corruption;
Transformation of the economy; and
The deepening of democracy and the NDR.
Engaging and building organic links with social movements and working class communities – through branches, shop stewards councils and local organs of people’s power - so that we break out of the 1996 class project bureaucratic top-down ‘delivery’ model of transformation;
Taking up the issues that affect working class communities, e.g.:
Indebtedness;
Crime and drugs;
Transport, health, housing and social services;
Holding an ANC government to account – whilst driving a pro-working class agenda and supporting progressive policies. That would include holding to account those comrades sent by COSATU and the SACP to Parliament – and reminding them why they are there.
A strong labour movement rooted in a powerful Alliance
Let me conclude by reminding ourselves that a strong labour movement – historically – has gone hand-in-hand with a powerful and effective Alliance.
So the factionalist allegation that the ANC and SACP want a weak compliant COSATU – and that the SACP is somehow responsible for the divisions in the federation - nothing could be further from the truth. Look at the history, comrades:
It was after liberal elements had purged communists from the ICU (Industrial and Commercial Workers of Africa) – comrades of the calibre of Jimmy la Guma, Johnny Gomas and EJ Khaile - that the once mighty ICU went into terminal decline.
But the Party (the then CPSA) also learnt the lessons of the ICU – one of its weaknesses was its ‘general union’ style of organisation as ‘one big union’. So when communist activists organised FNETU (Federation of Non-European Trade Unions) in the late 1920s it was along lines of ‘industrial unionism’ – ie ‘one industry, one union’ – 60 years before COSATU came up with the slogan in 1985.
The same organising principle was used in the formation of the mighty CNETU (Council of Non-European Trade Unions) in the 1940s and SACTU (South African Congress of Trade Unions) in the 1950s. Ironically the same principle of ‘industrial unionism’ guided the ‘workerist’ tendency in the formation of FOSATU (Federation of South African Trade Unions) in the 1970s.
So the NUMSA leadership were wrong to unilaterally ditch this historic principle – whatever the merits of ‘value chain unionism’ – and we still need to have that debate – but it must be a principled debate which seeks to strengthen the trade union movement as a whole – not to seek selfish and factional advantage.
In the face of anti-Party factional sentiments expressed, I need to assert the historical truth, that at every stage of the development of progressive trade unionism – whether legally or illegally from the underground – communists have been in the forefront of organising and building progressive trade unionism. Conversely, trade unionists have brought their actual experience of class struggle to strengthen the leadership of the Party. From Bill Andrews – elected to the leadership in 1921 - to our recently returned comrades JB Marks and Moses Kotane – to Ray Alexander – to Moses Mabhida, Billy Nair, Liz Abrahams - to the martyred Vuyisile Mini – too many to mention.
That is the point I am trying to make – the labour movement, the SACP and the ANC – historically – have always been strong when they are united – and when the Alliance is effective. That unity is the lesson – first enunciated in the ‘Black Republic thesis’ put forward by the Party in the late 1920s – but which has had to be constantly fought for and defended over 90 years of struggle.
That unity within COSATU – which always included different political tendencies – served us well for 30 years. As the Left – united as COSATU and the SACP working with comrades in the wider Alliance – this unity allowed us to make the following gains:
Entrench worker rights in labour legislation after 1994;
Stop the privatisation agenda of the late 1990s, and
Comprehensively contain the wider ‘1996 class project’;
I would argue further that, at the level of government, in key areas of economic policy we have seen significant shifts to the left in the last Administration, which are in line with the long-held approach of COSATU, in particular: the New Economic Growth Path, the development of a clear industrial policy (IPAP) and the National Infrastructure Plan. I would argue that this raft of policies and concrete plans amounts to a strategy for sustainable and inclusive economic growth with massively positive implications for job creation and poverty reduction.
The position that sees little difference between the ANC and the DA is dangerous talk. In a situation where labour is divided – and weakened – the ANC–led Alliance is a major impediment to the relentless pressure from capital for a so-called ‘flexible labour market.’ There is only one beneficiary of a divided labour movement – monopoly capital.
That unity of which I speak – of labour, and of the Alliance - remains the only strategy and vehicle capable of taking us into the second more radical phase of our transition to democracy – and giving concrete content to that, comrades, is the real debate we need to have.
Thank you.
Issued by the SACP, July 14 2015
