Brown,+Karima,+2005-05-18,+Look+past+narrow+interests



(For “The ANC Discussion Documents”, related articles, and leading article of 2005-05-18 headed “Wind of change blows through the ANC’s smoke-filled rooms” and beginning: “SUDDENLY it is like another country. A thousand flowers bloom…”, go to http://www.businessday.co.za/specialreports/anc.aspx?Page=BD4P18163&MenuItem=BD4P18163 )

Business Day, 18 May 2005
=**Look past narrow interests, ANC tells allies on new-look policy proposals for economy**=


 * Karima Brown, Political Correspondent**

THE African National Congress (ANC) yesterday threw down the gauntlet to its alliance partners, urging them to look beyond their “narrow” sectional interests and help the party deal with the problems of unemployment.

The ANC said that unlike the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Communist Party (SACP), it did not have the luxury of serving only one constituency, and had to attend to the interests of both workers and investors to help address the problems of low growth and underdevelopment in SA.

ANC spokesman Smuts Ngonyama said: “The ANC brings together different strands, people with different views and interests.”

He said it was only by thinking beyond the interests of their members that Cosatu and the SACP could contribute to the debate about SA’s economic realities. The challenge to its allies is the strongest indication yet that the ANC is determined to press ahead with changes to the country’s labour regulations.

The party has proposed amendments to existing laws, which, it says, hinder job creation. It has proposed a dual labour market that would allow for the easy dismissal of younger workers and the suspension of labour laws for small businesses.

The ANC says that this would help break the cycle of high youth unemployment.

Cosatu, the ANC Youth League and the Young Communist League oppose the proposals, contained in a discussion document prepared for the ANC national general council meeting next month.

But at yesterday’s briefing, to present the document to the media, the ANC looked determined to press ahead with its proposals, but also appeared keen to have its allies on board to stave off confrontation.

Cosatu has, for example, threatened to strike over the strong rand, which it blames for job losses. The trade union federation has vowed to fight attempts to reverse the gains it has made under the current laws, and asked government, to no avail, to declare job losses a “national emergency”.

Calling for a review, ANC deputy secretary-general Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele said: “Let’s go back to the drawing board and review the laws that have been put in place since 1995. Part of the unemployment level may be intensified by clauses that we included in these labour laws.”

Mthembi-Mahanyele said that poverty and unemployment affected more than just Cosatu and SACP members. Ngonyama, echoing President Thabo Mbeki’s criticism of the labour movement’s sectionalism, said SA’s economic challenges required “extraordinary measures”.

Ngonyama said while SA had “hit sixes and achieved a lot, the question of unemployment and poverty is still a very big challenge”.

Mthembi-Mahanyele said the ANC’s proposals did not seek to “overhaul” the labour laws. Instead, they implied “a focused inspection” motivated by concerns over the survival of people thrown out of the labour belt.

Mthembi-Mahanyele said that the high cost of labour in SA forced the ANC to rethink its policies against the background of the pressures of globalisation that led to unfair competition from countries such as China.

“As the ANC we want to engage. We want society to come on board. We want the alliance to discuss the ANC’s proposals and make real input into these debates,” she said.

But the proposals are likely to result in tension between the ANC and its alliance partners, which have said that the proposals would make young workers “more vulnerable”.

The SACP’s central executive committee is meeting at the weekend to discuss the proposals, while Cosatu has rejected the ANC’s argument that labour laws are a substantial factor behind unemployment.

Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the main source of massive unemployment was “historic impoverishment of our people, denying them land, skills, access to markets and finance, explicitly to force them to seek wage labour at any price”.

Vavi said that the domination of growth by capital-intensive sectors — especially mining, heavy chemicals, auto and telecommunications — prevented job creation.

He said the ANC pandered to business interests, saying attacks on labour laws came from business, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

“We have yet to see genuine, objective research to back up these views,” he said. He questioned the objectivity of employer surveys on which, he said, the proposals are based. “For them, labour is a cost; like taxes will always be an undesired burden.”

He said the IMF and World Bank had yet to show any serious research into perceived adverse effects of labour laws. “The IMF remains convinced that bargaining councils are a major obstacle to small enterprises. Yet, at most, bargaining councils cover a quarter of private formal workers.”

But Ngonyama said: “We don’t owe a cent to the IMF or the World Bank. That’s why we have a strong, independent voice.”


 * From: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A46019**