Numsa threatens ruling alliance

Distributing an end-of-year message on Tuesday the union declared that more and more, Numsa is becoming a revolutionary, active and campaigning trade union formation, providing strategic leadership on the many class struggles waged by the workers at the point of production linked with community struggles.

"By doing this, Numsa is carving out an important strategic and organisational role," it said. "We are neither an oppositionist, nor a conveyor belt for the ruling ANC alliance. Where constructive criticism is required, we will make it. Where popular pressure is necessary, we will mobilise it to correct the technicist, top-down approaches, or expose anti- worker policies.

"In the coming year, the 55th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, Numsa will uphold the vision that the wealth of our country shall be transferred to the people (and just not to a few politically connected elites) as a whole."

The militant metalworkers promise that next year Numsa will confront labour broking, casualisation and conditions of starvation benefits of employment.

"A very little effort is paid to women who are retrenched and as such Numsa must declare that Employment Equity Act will be used to protect women workers," it said. "As Numsa, we will be calling on Cosatu to declare a Section 77 dispute in Nedlac so that workers in the country can take strike action to ban labour brokers."

They threaten to 'go into battle' if there are any plans to privatise Eskom. And the union undertakes to hold a national energy policy workshop in February.

They say that their members will be bracing themselves (though since they are metalworkers they describe it as 'brazing themselves') for tough wage negotiations next year - "ever ready to demand the redistribution of wealth at the point of production".

- I-Net Bridge