/ 22 September 2009

Cosatu debates policy direction at national congress

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) began plotting the direction it will be taking during the next three years at its 10th national congress in Midrand on Tuesday.

Getting to the ”meat of the matter”, as union spokesperson Patrick Craven put it, about 3 000 delegates debated the labour grouping’s policy direction until its next gathering in 2012.

While the congress was taking place in a political and economic environment vastly different from its last gathering in 2006, Craven said the propelling theme remained largely the same.

”The main challenges are the same, creating decent work, strengthening unions, socialism,” he said.

In 2006, the union grouping was embroiled in a leadership tussle of its own, as well as the broader leadership battle between former and current ANC presidents, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.

This year, the congress gathered amid a biting global economic meltdown and South Africa’s first recession in almost two decades.

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe told delegates the impact of the downturn was reflected in the high number of job losses, factory closures, repossessions of houses and cars, and the termination of life cover policies and medical aids.

”What started as a financial crisis moved swiftly to the mainstream economy as aggregate demand fell, and as a result has now become a social crisis as workers lose their jobs and government faces declining revenues,” Motlanthe said.

The deputy president told the congress it was meeting during a ”deep global recession”, which exacerbated the difficulties already facing the country.

He added while the country’s financial sector remained relatively strong in the face of the global meltdown, employment had dipped by 2% in the second quarter of the year.

Removing soldiers’ right to belong to unions featured strongly in the debate on the political report presented by general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.

Delegates expressed their dismay at the ANC, Cosatu’s alliance partner, endorsing government’s move to de-unionise the military.

ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said the alliance partners would have to discuss differences in opinion further when they gathered for an alliance summit.

”Cosatu will put forward their position and we’ll put forward ours … we’ll take it from there,” he said after the debate.

Vavi said further engagement on the issue was needed.

Nominations for the union’s national office bearers also closed on Tuesday.

Vavi and president Sidumo Dlamini were renominated for their positions unchallenged, as was deputy general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali.

South African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union national treasurer Freda Oosthuysen was also nominated without challenge for the position of treasurer.

Oosthuysen will replace Alina Rantsolase, who left to take up duties as an ANC MP.

Zingiswa Losi, of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, and Boitumelo Louise Thipe, of the South African Commercial and Catering Allied Workers’ Union, are the two candidates for the position of second deputy president. Both candidates are women.

The position was left open after the death of Violet Seboni in a car accident in April.

The results would be announced on Thursday, the last day of the congress.

Debates continued into Tuesday evening. — Sapa