/MAY DAY/LABOUR: A Drop in the Membership of South Africa’s Largest Federation

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Anthony Stoppard

JOHANNESBURG, Apr 23 2003 (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.