COSATU+claims+victories+in+year+2006,+Bonile+Nqiyaza,+The+Star

The Star, Johannesburg, December 28, 2006 //Edition 1//
=Cosatu claims victories in a 'year drenched in blood'=


 * Bonile Ngqiyaza**

Workers affiliated to South Africa's biggest and most active labour federation, the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), will not in all likelihood remember the past year with any great fondness.

During a year in which the organisation held its ninth congress - a whole lot of things seemed to refuse to go according to the script. It was - to give vim to an already lively quote made recently by Cosatu General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi - a year drenched with blood -|literally as well as figuratively.

The labour federation celebrated 20 years of existence on World Aids Day, December 1.

Cosatu drove major campaigns throughout the year forcing government to apply the brakes to the privatisation of Transnet, place a moratorium on imports of cheap Chinese textiles, intervene as security guards mounted one of the longest and bloodiest strikes yet and provide an expansionary budget with more social spending and more than R300-billion in public purchases this year after a concerted anti-unemployment campaign.

However, labour's business during the year also showed up some of the national office bearers badly when personal issues distracted from much needed leadership.

Undoubtedly, ANC Deputy President Jacob Zuma loomed large over Cosatu's ninth national congress in the latter part of the year. Leadership tussles ahead of any congress are to be expected, but the kind of divisions and infighting seen this year were unprecedented.

The run-up to the congress in Midrand was beset with leadership struggles, back-stabbing, character assassination and worrying tribal tendencies.

The division mirrored the kind of fierce leadership battle playing out inside the heart of the ANC ahead of its policy and leadership congresses this coming year. The rifts between the former friends and comrades in Cosatu's national leadership culminated in allegations of womanising, misappropriation of funds, assassination and spying.

At the end of the congress, Cosatu President Willie Madisha retained his position by a narrow margin against relatively unknown Cosatu Eastern Cape chairperson Zanoxolo Wayile, who until the business of the congress started, had been considered a weak candidate.

However, Wayile's good showing had everything to do with the ANC succession battle. Now, commentators all round have agreed that the tough task of healing lies ahead, before the federation and its affiliates can begin to implement decisions.

Despite all that, the congress emerged with resolutions including a call for pro-poor policies, large-scale nationalisation and tougher labour laws. The federation also tried to agitate support for the restive labour movements in neighbouring Zimbabwe and Swaziland.

At the end of May, Vavi was bundled unceremoniously out of Zimbabwe where he had gone to attend a meeting with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). He was declared persona non grata and it was said he would never be admitted to the country as long as President Robert Mugabe reigned.

Still on the international front, the entire top leadership of the country's four trade union federations decamped to Vienna last month.

Twenty-four men and women led by the presidents and general secretaries of Cosatu, the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa), the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) and the Confederation of SA Workers' Unions arrived in Austria to celebrate the merger of the two major international labour federations.

South Africa's leadership skills were also recognised on the world stage after Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana and SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union general secretary Randall Howard were elected to prominent positions.

In June, Cosatu announced that it would consider walking out of the alliance or holding the ANC to election ransom in a move to give a new direction to the political party.

There was also encouraging news and a glimmer of hope here and there. One of these moments came after Stats SA's Labour Force Survey reported the creation of 544 000 new jobs in the year to March 2006.

However, the official unemployment rate, which excludes those too discouraged to look for work, dropped by 0,9%, to 25,6%, and the more inclusive figure dropped below 39%.

Perhaps an indication of the state of labour can be gleaned from Reserve Bank statistics released in September. The Bank reported that the number of working days lost from strikes rose from about 700 000 in the first half of last year to 1,6-million in the first half this year - the highest figure in 10 years.

But strikes were not the only dominating news - there were also impending layoffs.

And finally, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration celebrated 10 years on November 27 - a milestone, if there is one, through which people and organisations in the labour sphere can measure how far the country has come.


 * From: http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3606491**

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