THE launch of South Africa’s fourth major labour
federation is at last upon us. In just two weeks the inaugural congress of the
tentatively named South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) will be held
over three days in Boksburg.
When he announced the launch, former Cosatu general
secretary and coordinator of the new federation Zwelinzima Vavi maintained
that it would be a “watershed moment” for the labour movement. It could
possibly turn out to be so. But at the moment all that is sure, is that this
will almost certainly be a major event in South Africa’s trade union history.
Headed by the 350 000-strong National Union of
Metalworkers (Numsa) and claiming a membership of about 800 000, the grouping
has some 20 affiliates, a number of them breakaway factions of unions
affiliated to Cosatu. Numsa itself, in controversial circumstances, was
expelled from Cosatu.
The launch of this new federation was originally
scheduled for March, but was delayed until April 21. The inaugural
announcement noted that this “paves the way for the birth of a vibrant,
independent, democratic and militant workers’ champion”.
And, with more than a touch of hyperbole, it went on
to add that this new federation “will turn the tide against exploitation, mass
unemployment, poverty and inequality and take us forward to the total
liberation of the working class”. As a trade union movement it could
certainly make a contribution to these goals but, in the final analysis, this
is the role of a political movement or party.
Trade unions should be, first and foremost, democratic. This means they should unite workers as workers, irrespective of gender, language, ethnic background, religion or political affiliation, with every worker having equal rights and responsibilities. Unions are the shields for worker rights and comprise a massive reserve army that can, when united, press for political and economic change as well as for better pay and conditions. But they are not, in themselves, the agents of change.
Prime target for capture
However, the potential power of the labour movement
makes it a prime target for influence and even capture by business interests,
political parties and ambitious individuals. The main protection trade
unions have against such manoeuvrings and manipulation is to be intensely
democratic: power must remain with the workers on the shopfloor and not be
allowed to gravitate to an often self-proclaimed “politically conscious” elite,
let alone to political or business puppet masters.
The “total liberation of the working class” implies
an egalitarian society, a society without bosses, whether of unions,
governments or industry; where all managers or coordinators are elected
by their constituencies and answerable to, as well as being recallable by,
them. In such an environment no one in elected authority should earn more
than the highest paid constituent.
This form of organisation developed to a degree
among some of South Africa’s emergent and militant unions of 30 years and more
ago. It can - and perhaps should - be applied now. However, given
the level of bureaucracy that has developed, and the competition that exists
between unions, this is unlikely in the short to medium term.
There is also a lot of baggage, both political and
personal, that has been carried forward within the labour movement, especially
at a leadership level. Besides Cosatu, the two other major federations,
the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) and the Federation of Unions
(Fedusa), have for years campaigned for unity on the basis of non-party
political affiliation. For this purpose, they set up the SA Confederation
of Trade Unions as an apparent “off the shelf” federation for all.
“But they just want us to collapse into their new
federation,” a senior Fedusa official noted. It is a view shared within
Nactu where the largest affiliate is the Association of Mineworkers and
Construction Union.
Underlying such wariness is the claimed bureaucratic
nature of Numsa and the fact that the union - the main driver behind the new
federation - continues to refer to itself as a “Marxist-Leninist” organisation
while still maintaining an apparently lucrative investment company.
These and other arguments are certain to surface in coming months as what promises to be considerable turmoil in the labour movement starts settling down. Will this herald a new era for local trade unionism or will it merely signal the arrival of just another federation in the existing mould, a new wheel or simply a retread? Time alone will tell.
* Add your voice or just drop Terry a labour question. Follow Terry on twitter @telbelsa.