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OVER the last two weeks there has been a sudden drop in the number of stories in the media about labour issues. There is still much happening in the trade unions, but the media has clearly given this less attention, as journalists have been fully stretched covering South Africa’s ongoing political crisis.
Yet this crisis is just as much a ‘labour issue’ as the affairs of the unions, as workers invariably end up as the worst hit when an economy slides into recession, as is likely after the ratings agencies downgraded the economy to junk status. Even more jobs are likely to be shed, and fewer new ones created. Inflation is likely to push up the cost of living for the poor and higher interest rates will add to families’ debt burden.
Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago has warned that the poor and the middle class will feel the brunt of the downgrade. Christie Viljoen‚ senior economist at KPMG South Africa, has said that “uncertainty over the short-term trajectory of local politics will weigh on local and foreign investor sentiment – and hamper the investment needed to address South Africa’s challenges of unemployment‚ poverty and inequality”.
The intensification of corruption and looting of public resources, which lies behind Zuma’s move, will also exacerbate inequality, as it enriches an elite minority at the expense of providing money for vital public services.
Unions respond in different ways
The crisis has exposed different responses from the unions. The Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) has thrown its weight firmly behind the campaign of opposition to the Cabinet reshuffle and the call for President Jacob Zuma’s resignation, perhaps partly because its general secretary was personally involved as a member of the Task Team that was ordered back from the UK.
Trade federation Cosatu called for the president to resign but then contradicted itself by condemning those people marching for precisely that demand, which can only have confused its members. The National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) seems to have said nothing.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), the new federation, issued a statement expressing outrage at Zuma's Cabinet reshuffle and appealed to all South Africans “to flood the streets of Pretoria and symbolically occupy the Treasury in the strongest possible protest”.
"The announcement," it said, "confirms our worst fears that the country has now been plunged into its biggest crisis since 1994. We now have a government with no credibility, one which has surrendered power to powerful crony capitalist factions and delivered a slap in the face of millions of South Africans."
The statement however made an important qualification to its support for the protests: “Our campaign is distinct from any campaigns against the reshuffle by the very capitalists who are exploiting workers and their political allies like the DA. We will not defend any ANC or alliance factions who are guilty of implementing austerity measures and neoliberal programmes, which have led to the worsening material conditions of the working class.
Fighting a monopoly capitalist system
"We are not backing any individual or faction but fighting against a monopoly capitalist economic system which is now taking us towards a deadly, corrupt form of crony capitalism”.
Saftu has also made clear that it would not support the campaign by opposition parties, in line with its firm commitment to independence from political parties.
The federation’s biggest affiliate, the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (Numsa), took an even more critical line towards those taking to the streets in protest.
Referring to the campaign to defend the Treasury and oppose Pravin Gordhan’s sacking, its statement said: “During his tenure as finance minister Pravin Gordhan was a consistent defender of discredited, neoliberal capitalist policies. He is a slave to ratings agencies which are the global capitalist policemen for the austerity measures, which inflict daily misery on the working class and the poor…
“We want to set the record straight on the open war between Pravin Gordhan and Jacob Zuma... Both of these groups belong to the same class – the capitalist class. They are our class enemies, as the working class. Both do not deserve our support. Both want to loot us, to oppress us, to exploit us. Both are responsible for our suffering! Both these groups are guilty of ignoring the poor and the working class.”
All Saftu’s affiliates are committed to building an independent, worker-controlled and democratic organisation, but one which is not apolitical and needs to engage in robust, democratic debate on any issue that affects workers, and this is a good example of such an issue.
When there are differences of approach and emphasis, these should not be swept under the carpet but used to educate the membership and the wider working class on the best way to mobilise the class to use its power to bring about sustainable economic growth, and an end to unemployment, poverty and inequality through a socialist programme.
Saftu will not follow the example of other federations in stifling discussion, handing down policies from the leaders and settling differences through expulsions, as Cosatu did with Numsa, but take issues to the rank and file for debate and a mandate, and only then adopt this as a federation policy. Saftu’s founding congress on April 21 to 23 will provide the forum for just such a debate.
* Patrick Craven is a former national spokesperson of Cosatu and Numsa and a supporter of the Movement for Socialism, which aims to build a new revolutionary socialist workers’ party. Opinions expressed are his own.
