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/MAY DAY/LABOUR: A Drop in the Membership of South Africa's Largest Federation
By Anthony Stoppard
JOHANNESBURG, Apr 23 (IPS) - The Congress of South African Trade Unions
(COSATU), the largest labour federation in the country, has been weakened by
a financial crises and a drop in its membership ahead of a showdown with the
government over the country's economic policy.
COSATU is vehemently opposed to the government's economic policies, which
include tight control of state spending and the privatisation of state-owned
enterprises.
The labour federation wants government to spend more on social and
economic development programmes and is demanding an end to its privatisation
initiatives.
COSATU is planning to push for major changes to government economic
policy at the Growth and Development Summit (GDS), where government,
business and labour are planning to hammer out a way to kick-start economic
growth and job creation in South Africa. The summit is scheduled for the
beginning of June, 2003.
But now, the labour federation is facing an organisational and financial
crisis. At a meeting of its central committee, held in Johannesburg last
week, COSATU officials reported that its affiliates owed it R5 million
(667,000 million U.S. dollars). More worrying, one of its biggest
affiliates, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU)
is R10.72 million (around 1.5 million U.S. dollars) in the red.
In his address to the Central Committee, COSATU President, Willy Madisha,
acknowledged that the federation had lost over 100,000 members during the
past three years. He blamed increased unemployment for the decline in
membership. South Africa's unemployment rate is between 30 and 40 percent of
the economic active population.
The federation's membership now stands at around 1.7 million. "These
trends place a three-fold burden on unions: we lose members; we face new
organisational and financial stresses; and we have to deal with the very
hard issues that arise from workplace restructuring," said Madisha.
On the financial difficulties the federation is experiencing, he said:
"We are still managing our work, but only with great difficulty."
Despite these pressures, Madisha made it clear that the federation was
steadfastly opposed to government's economic policy and would push for
changes at the Growth and Development Summit. The summit is likely to see
some hard talking between the government and COSATU.
Although government agrees with the labour federation that unemployment
is the major problem facing the country, it has different ideas about how
best to tackle the problem. In its proposals to the summit, government - in
a position paper drafted by a team headed by the director-general of the
South African Department of Labour, Rams Ramashia - "admits that despite
gains the country made in the last few years much remains to be done".
Government wants to increase the rate of investment in the country;
provide more opportunities for employment and enterprise development and
accelerate the pace of change in the economy.
Madisha is critical about government's proposals. "There are some good
things in these proposals. But government's proposals fall far short of a
co-ordinated strategy to restructure the economy. A few more programmes to
support small and medium enterprises and create learner-ships won't be
enough," he said.
Madisha also warned against the splintering of the labour movement in
South Africa. He pointed to the formation of the Confederation of South
African Workers Union (CONSAWU), the country's fourth labour union, late
last year.
"One of the most potent weapons in the hands of South African capital is
the splintering of the labour movement. The creation of yet another labour
federation is bad news for workers. Instead of working towards one single
national and even more powerful federation, the unions that have affiliated
to CONSAWU have chosen to further fragment the workers voice and increase
the power of capital," he said. (END/2003)
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