Vodacom+shows+unions+need+a+voice,+Terry+Bell,+B+Report

Business Report, Johannesburg, March 2, 2007
=Vodacom's rebuke shows why unions need a voice=

I received what I suppose was intended as a slap over the wrist this week. From Vodacom.

It was in response to last week's Inside Labour column about the dispute between the cellular operator and a group of unionised workers wearing Communications Workers' Union (CWU) T-shirts. The company noted with "concern" that I had not first obtained the view of Vodacom's chief communications officer, Dot Field, before writing.

This reveals a misunderstanding about what this column is about. And the manner in which the message was issued underlines just why such a column should exist in the way it does, as a reflection of the views, perceptions and attitudes of and within the labour movement.

Although the message from Vodacom was signed by Field, it was issued by Magna Carta, the public relations wing of advertising giant TBWA Hunt Lascaris. In bold red capitals it said: "MAGNA CARTA MAY NOT BE QUOTED ON BEHALF OF VODACOM."

I have obeyed this injunction, but I feel it is necessary to point out the Magna Carta connection, because it highlights the disproportionate balance of resources and public relations expertise between employers and unions. This has long been a source of resentment within the labour movement.

It is not just a national or continental reality, it applies globally.

The labour movement maintains, with apparent justification, that most mainstream media outlets are owned or controlled by individuals or groups that share the interests of, or are beholden to, the corporate world.

As a result of this imbalance of resources and access, employers all too often win the media battle in terms of getting across their viewpoints to the public. This, in turn, causes widespread anger about the media among rank and file trade unionists, with journalists frequently in the firing line.

But there are a few spaces within the mainstream media for the voice of labour. With few exceptions, on a weekly basis, 48 times a year for the past 10 years, this has been one - and remains so.

This column reflects labour. It is not a dispassionate analysis of industrial relations. In it I accept that employers and employees have conflicting interests; that it is in the interests of the former to maximise profits; and of the latter to improve wages and conditions, which can have a negative impact on profits.

Here are to be found some of the varied viewpoints of unionists and unions. They exist within our parliamentary democracy, where the exploitative nature of capital is ameliorated by the existence of independent trade unions and the labour laws they, as collectives, can influence.

But while the trade union movement is numerically by far the largest formation in society, its financial resources and public relations expertise are puny compared with those that can be mustered especially by large firms and employer organisations.

Corporate public relations are constantly in play in often sophisticated and - as many unionists see it - underhand ways to win journalist friends and influence media output.

Several unionists remarked this week that Vodacom's response to me was clear evidence of this. Mfanafuthi Sithebe, the spokesperson of the CWU, summed up: "In the media battle, it's like a boxing match where the union fighter has his hands tied behind his back."

However, the union is the numerical heavyweight. The three main local labour federations alone have a combined membership of more than 2 million workers. And that weight has swung behind the CWU.

Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven says: "This Wednesday the Cosatu central executive committee resolved to give full support to the CWU." After examining the reports on Vodacom and the CWU, the federation resolved that the employer had displayed "arrogance and ruthlessness" in its dealings with the union.

Cosatu's statement ended with the traditional "Viva! CWU, viva!" salutation, which was echoed by National Council of Trade Unions national organiser Chaka Leepo, even though the CWU is a Cosatu affiliate.

Says Leepo: "Employers have to realise that workers have the right of freedom of association - the right to organise - and that no employer has an absolute right to dictate to workers what they should wear."

Federation of Unions of SA general secretary Dennis George concurs: "Many employers do not have regard for our constitution and our rights; in the public relations field they often have millions of rands they can throw at issues."

The unions see this as a clear case of an injury to one being an injury to all. The CWU pointed this out in an open letter to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who recently celebrated her 70th birthday at a Vodacom venue in Sandton.

"We are now asking for everyone who supports the democratic rights of workers to take a stand on principle," Sithebe says.


 * From: http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=559&fArticleId=3709164**

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