Workers should be united and help make African National Congress (ANC) policy, the party’s deputy president, Jacob Zuma, told a Workers’ Day rally in the North West on Tuesday.
In his 30-minute message of support to workers at the rally in Reagile near Koster, Zuma said workers had been an important part of the struggle for freedom. ”Workers were at the forefront when we called for strikes, boycotts and stayaways during the apartheid era.”
He said workers should not be afraid to raise their voices against policies that do not benefit them.
Workers have the power to help the ANC win elections and therefore have the same power to go to the ANC policy conference next month to discuss policies that will benefit them, he said.
Zuma concluded with his trademark song Umshini Wami.
Farmworkers
Quality jobs are needed, especially for farmworkers, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi told the rally. ”We demand quality jobs with living wages and benefits such as medical, housing, provident [fund] and transport allowances,” he said.
Vavi said the government’s economic policies have not benefited workers since 1994, leaving workers to become poorer and the rich richer.
He disagrees with economists who say the country’s economy has improved in the past 13 years, as the poor have not benefited. ”If that is correct, we would have not seen the poverty that greeted us when we arrived in Koster this morning. There is a saying that 500 000 jobs have been created, but these are not quality jobs.”
He said the jobs created are mostly in the retail sector where workers are hired on a casual basis.
Vavi said farmworkers have to work long hours without being paid overtime and their children are exposed to child labour, which cannot be refused due to the families’ dependency on the farmers. ”The farmworker is exposed to hard labour because he depends on the farmer for accommodation, food, water and payment.”
Young Communist League (YCL) national secretary Buti Manamela said the government is not being fair to public servants by offering them a 6% pay increase while it is considering increasing President’s Thabo Mbeki’s salary by 57%.
”It would be proper for the government to offer the president a 6% increase and pay workers the 57% offered to the president as workers are poorly paid.”
The Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers recently recommended the increase for the president.
Manamela said the YCL will support public servants if they go on strike for higher wages. Civil servants and government are currently negotiating over pay.
Unite to fight poverty
In Cape Town, Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan on Tuesday urged South Africans to remain united in pushing back the frontiers of poverty and creating a better life for all.
Addressing a Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) Worker’s Day rally in the city, he warned against workers being misled by some political parties that do not have their interests at heart.
Some of these pit the employed against the unemployed, sowing discontent, so that the workers can be ”better exploited”. Such parties should not be supported, said Jordan, who was addressing the crowd of several hundred on behalf of the ANC national executive committee.
Therefore, it is important that the tripartite alliance of the ANC, Cosatu and the South African Communist Party remain united.
The ANC government, in only 13 years in power, has done more than all the previous governments together since 1910 to improve the lives of workers, he said. ”We must never forget that.”
When looking at the considerable amount still to be done, one should remember ”where we came from”. Vast strides have been made in providing housing, electricity, water and sanitation. In 1994, the economy was in a very poor state, but under the ANC government, it is now growing steadily each year. This is essential for meeting the needs of ordinary working people, Jordan said.
There is still a long way to go. Many workers, particularly domestic and farm workers, are still vulnerable to ”terrible exploitation”. All of this has to be addressed on the road ahead.
”We can only do this if we stay united … and allow no one to divide us … on any basis,” Jordan said.
The focus at the rally in the Company Gardens fell on workers, with extensive entertainment provided by local bands, cultural events and fashion shows, interspersed with political speeches. — Sapa