The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) should use its structures to help further the government’s poverty reduction goals, African National Congress secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe said on Thursday at the union’s conference being held in Midrand.
Thanking delegates for their role in the party’s recent election victory, Motlanthe said the challenge now is to ensure that community concerns raised on the campaign trail remain a priority.
The role of trade unions is critical in dealing with poverty and transformation and the union must defend and mobilise the rights of workers to overcome the economic divide.
”You must use the union infrastructure to enhance that struggle,” he said.
He said the struggle against poverty could be likened to the global struggle against apartheid.
He urged unions to assist workers in countries in the rest of Africa to attain development goals laid out in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
Motlanthe was secretary general of the National Union of Mineworkers before being appointed to his current position.
Earlier NUM president Senzeni Zokwana delivered a hard-hitting speech criticising members who accept bribes or don’t do enough to fight a member’s case, highlighting the difficulties that women in the union face and urging members to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids.
He paid tribute to mineworkers who had died at work or as a result of the disease.
The three-day special congress aims to examine some of these issues and to consider restructuring some of the national and regional functions.
The conference will last for three days. — Sapa