‘THIS is the last May Day to be stolen. It has been used for electioneering and workers are being fed lies and given promises which will never be realised. We must never allow this to happen again.’
These are the words of Irvin Jim, the general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), who says the next year will be spent consolidating the working class into a powerful new political formation.
Political commentators noted it is quite telling that COSATU was unable to fill the 40,000-seater stadium in Polokwane last Thursday for the main Labour Day rally – meant to be its big show of support for the ANC less than a week before the elections.
Limpopo is one of the ANC’s biggest strongholds – it has consistently received above 80% of the vote in that province. COSATU members were being bussed in from across the province.
This was also the main May Day rally, with President Jacob Zuma, COSATU president S’dumo Dlamini and South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Blade Nzimande leading the speeches.
Yet only half the stadium was full, when up to now workers have travelled overnight from all parts of the country to see their leaders in action. Workers are less enthused by the election fever this year. They have borne the brunt of tough economic times and have struggled to have their grievances heard and addressed.
This is despite the post-Polokwane ANC leadership being backed and campaigned for by COSATU, with the understanding that the Zuma government would be more worker-friendly and left-leaning.
NUMSA general secretary Irvin Jim warns the dominant group in the ANC is the petit bourgeoisie who have become pro-capitalist and anti-worker in their outlook.
The power battles between COSATU factions led by Dlamini and general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi left Cosatu ineffective and unable to drive its own campaigns, such as against e-tolling and labour brokers, let alone rally support for the ANC.
COSATU has also not been able to explain to its members why, despite it being in alliance with the ANC, it has lost all battles with the ruling party on issues it vowed not to back down on, especially with the implementation of the so-called youth wage subsidy, which the federation was vehemently opposed to and claimed was a policy of the Democratic Alliance.
The decision by the biggest affiliate, Numsa, not to support the ANC in the May 7 election has opened up the working class to other options. The battle in the mining sector, particularly on the platinum belt, has been an eye opener for all workers about how their grievances are viewed and whether the ANC government would act in their defence against their employers.
The Marikana massacre saw the ANC police collude with the mining company and shoot strikers, killing 34 mineworkers on August 16, 2012. That prolonged wildcat strike led to fragmentation of the National Union of Mineworkers, previously the biggest union in COSATU, and the rise of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU).
The AMCU has no declared political affiliation. In areas like Marikana, workers are violently opposed to the ANC, over the party’s failure to condemn the massacre and its abandoning the community. The current strike in the platinum sector, which began on January 23, is continuing.
Meanwhile NUMSA’s special congress in December resolved to explore the establishment of a workers’ party or social movement that would represent the interest of workers.
Its general secretary Irvin Jim says the decision not to support the ANC is because ‘the country is being led in a completely wrong direction’. He said that the SACP has surrendered its position as the vanguard of working class and therefore that space needs to be occupied effectively.
Jim added: ‘It is time for us to break new ground and act in the interest of working class.
‘Why are Cosatu and the SACP lying purely for the ANC to win?’
NUMSA leaders of the metalworkers union were left out of the schedule of COSATU activities on May Day because of their refusal to campaign for the ANC.
Jim said: ‘This is the last May Day to be stolen. It has been used for electioneering and workers are being fed lies and given promises which will never be realised. We must never allow this to happen again.’
COSATU general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, who had his suspension lifted by a court last month, had to address a rally in Port Elizabeth with an unequivocal endorsement of the ANC on behalf of COSATU. It proved harder to do than he thought. Vavi veered from the speaking script and instead started belting out the demands of workers, including that of ‘radical economic transformation’.
• Lonmin chief executive officer Ben Magara has been shocked by the length of South Africa’s platinum strike and by the unwillingness of AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa, to accept ‘economic realities.’
Mgara said: ‘I thought this would not go this far. I am dumbfounded about why the economic realities are not dawning’ on Mathunjwa and AMCU members.
Lonmin, Anglo American Platinum Ltd. (AMS) and Impala Platinum Holdings Plc, have been at loggerheads with the AMCU since January 23 when the union went on strike over pay. AMCU has rejected the companies’ latest offer of 12,500 rand a month by 2017 including benefits, instead demanding that amount in basic pay within four years.
AMCU leader Mathunjwa said on Saturday: ‘The only solution in this thing is for companies to come to the table and talk about how we can reach 12,500 in four years. There is no other way.’ Lonmin, Anglo American Platinum, and Impala have been contacting workers directly, by-passing AMCU, to ask whether they would accept the new pay offer.
Magara said the ANC government should legislate to require unions to conduct secret ballots before they strike. The strike, the longest mining stoppage in South Africa’s history, has cost companies almost 16 billion rand in lost revenue and workers 7.1 billion rand in income, according to the producers.
The Lonmin share price has declined 8.9 per cent to 292.6 pence since the strike began on January 23 in London trading. Platinum is down 1.3 per cent at $1,439.63 an ounce in the same period.
COSATU President Sidumo Dlamini has called for an end to the strike and urged AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa to be sensitive to the needs of the workers. Dlamini addressed the May Day rally in Polokwane last Thursday and said the federation is willing to mediate between mining companies and the union to resolve the impasse.
Dlamini said the strike should not be allowed to be indefinite warning it could cripple the platinum belt. He claimed: ‘The strike has continued for too long. We call upon employers to respond to those demands.’
Dlamini said the trade union federation is willing to assist AMCU in resolving the wage deadlock.
‘But you must be willing to be assisted by COSATU we aren’t your enemy,’ he declared.
He said both the union and mine companies should be sensitive to the plight of workers. The strike has hit 40 per cent of global platinum production and threatens growth in Africa’s most advanced economy.