*What is happening to COSATU?*
The extraordinary statement issued by the COSATU spokesperson at 19h29
in the evening of 15 March 2013 has been posted here and it is
reproduced again below.
This extraordinary statement was sent out under the subject line:
/"COSATU NOBs' statement on the challenge of unity and cohesion of the
Federation"/, but it also refers in detail to a resolution of the CEC
(COSATU Central Executive Committee) meeting of 25-27 February 2013.
Public statements are put out for comment. We will therefore comment on
this statement.
*1. Abdication and re-constitution*
In terms of the latest version COSATU Constitution, obtained today from
the COSATU web site, the voting membership of the COSATU CEC is madeup
of delegations of two, or four, national leaders of COSATU's 19
affiliates, depending on the affiliate's membership.
In practice these delegations are led by Presidents and General
Secretaries. These 38 individuals therefore form both the bulk, and the
decision-making core, of the CEC.
What the CEC appears now to have done is to re-constitute itself, in its
substantial vote-bearing bulk, as a sub-committee of itself, under the
"facilitation" (chairpersonship) of two individuals who are not elected
COSATU officials, and who are designated "independent", which can only
mean that the word "unelected" has become falsely translated into the
word "independent".
This CEC sub-committee of its main members, the affiliates' Presidents
and General Secretaries, is therefore deprived, in the time of its need,
of its federal President, and First and Second Deputy Presidents,
elected by the (recent) COSATU Congress. In effect, these three, who are
the three main lay or "worker leader" National Office Bearers according
to the COSATU Constitution (the other one being the Treasurer) have been
suspended from exercising their office.
The President of COSATU is Sidumo Dlamini; the First Deputy-President is
Tyotyo James; and the Second Deputy-President is Zingiswa Losi.
The agenda of this CEC-reconstituted-as-a-sub-committee-of-itself is:
Political, Ideological, Organisational and Administrative issues. This
list may be construed as covering the entire competence of the CEC. In
other words, the CEC proper has abdicated all its responsibilities in
favour of an allegedly temporary structure.
The CEC-reconstituted-as-a-sub-committee-of-itself will subject itself
to extraordinary rules of secrecy in relation to the COSATU affiliates
and their members, in relation to the general public, and the mass media
of communication. But the National Office Bearers, or the spokesperson
in the name of the National Office Bearers, appear to have discretion as
to what is released, and what is concealed.
This situation looks open to blackmail. The "independent facilitators"
have no constitutional power, while the constitutionally-elected rulers
of the organisation have been kicked into touch.
This outcome can only have been the product of intransigence in the face
of the normal workings of the COSATU Constitution. It offers no prospect
of means of overcoming the same intransigence, but brings an extra
problem of how to return to constitutional rule. It displaces the
problem to a location where the intransigent have not less, but more
opportunities to obstruct.
Therefore, on the face of it, one would expect a very long hiatus,
accompanied by simultaneous leaks and complaints of leaks, where the
complainers should usually be the prime suspects of being the source of
the very leaks they are complaining about.
This is because the stronger motive for secrecy is not seclusion, but is
the obtaining of selective control over the release of information.
While others are restrained, the leaker is king. This is a circumstance
arrived at by design, and not by accident.
Those who do not want a reckoning, or a resolution, can work to make
this temporary arrangement into a permanent hiatus for COSATU. There is
nothing internal to this arrangement that would appear at this moment to
be capable of decisive action. It is a step backwards from decisiveness.
It creates uncertainty, without any clear prospect of a return to certainty.
*2. Organising, Bargaining, or NGO-ing?*
While the constitutional structures of COSATU have been paralysed in the
way described above, the conference that was convened last week to
discuss the organisation of new members into COSATU has been diverted to
purposes of converting COSATU into an NGO that concerns itself with
people who are _not_ its members, and not organised at all.
COSATU members are not below the floor, or on the floor. This is because
they are organised. It is the reason for organisation. Organisation is
the remedy that trade unionism puts forward, and has done since the days
of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Combine to defend yourselves, and to regain
what is otherwise constantly lost: This is trade unionism.
The argument for minimum wage is made on behalf of people who are not
organised. It is not put forward for members of COSATU affiliates, but
on charitable grounds, for others who are not COSATU members.
Instead of organising those people, those who are arguing for minimum
wage are proposing to organise for them, or on their behalf.
To do this would be to convert COSATU from being a trade union
federation, into an NGO. This NGO would not be there to serve the
dues-paying members, but to serve people who do not pay dues and who are
themselves not democratically organised. This is a classic definition of
an NGO.
Further, there is the possibility, which is more like a certainty, that
the masses that COSATU at national level would attempt to call out,
would not appear. Why would affiliates turn their operations over to
defending the interests of people who are not their members? What the
affiliates, and their members, have an interest in, is the general
extension of organisation to the unorganised. They have no interest in
the substitution of an NGO principle for a trade union principle.
The COSATU General Secretary is quoted by George Matlala in today's
Sunday Times as wanting to force a new, high, national minimum wage by
next year, 2014, when there is to be an election for the national
Parliament and the Provincial legislatures.
It is not clear from Matlala's article whether this was the conference
recommendation, or whether it was Cde Vavi's advocacy to the conference,
prior to recommendation. Nor has one seen any press release from COSATU
that would make it clear what the conference as a whole recommends in
this regard.
The National Democratic Revolution is not a reformist project. The
National Democratic Revolution is a project for the democratic
organisation, and not the NGO-isation, of the South African population.
This discussion is not concluded.
VC
See below for the COSATU NOB/CEC statements issued on Friday 15 March at
17h29 in the evening, and extracts from the COSATU Constitution as it is
given on the COSATU web site.
*COSATU National Office Bearers' Statement, 15 March 2013*
*Challenge of unity and cohesion of the Federation*
We are taking this extraordinary step of releasing the internal
discussions COSATU has had regarding the important matter of unity and
cohesion, in response to the distortions of the internal debates to the
media by some individual leaders who have now reduced themselves to
being sources for the newspapers.
At the recently held meeting of the Central Executive Committee (25 --
27 February 2013), a report was presented from a meeting of the COSATU
affiliated unions' Presidents and General Secretaries, which itself was
mandated to discuss unity and cohesion of the Federation by the November
2012 CEC. In response to this report a frank and robust discussion took
place and the CEC took the resolution below:
*On the Unity and coherency of the Federation*
Following the tabling of this report the CEC had frank and robust
discussions, which were intended to cement the unity and coherence of
the Federation. The content of the discussions included political,
ideological, organisational and administrative issues.
After these discussions the CEC resolved on the following:
1. Mandated that the meeting of the Presidents and General Secretaries
should be convened urgently, with maximum attendance by all unions,
to further engage with both the political, ideological,
organisational and administrative issues raised during the meeting.
2. This meeting of the Presidents and General Secretaries will among
others solicit the services of skilled independent persons to
facilitate the discussions which in the wisdom of the CEC was
necessary to effectively address all issues raised in the meeting.
The facilitators will among others produce a report, which will
ultimately be subjected to the CEC, which will then decide the way
forward.
3. In the meantime the National Office Bearers were to continue
engaging amongst themselves, including on taking forward the
Federation's programme and also providing leadership in facilitating
the meeting of the Presidents and General Secretaries.
4. Informed by the issues raised in the CEC the NOBs would also
continue to intervene between and within unions on such matters as
poaching, internal union conflicts, support and addressing the
challenge of rivalry unions.
5. The NOBs would facilitate a meeting between NUM and NUMSA on urgent
basis.
6. The NOBs would table a list or a programme on all campaigns at the
Presidents' and General Secretaries' meeting before the Collective,
Organising and Campaigns Conference.
7. All the above work would feed to the meeting of the Presidents and
General Secretaries. If it becomes necessary, in the process of all
these engagements, the NOBs may convene a Special CEC.
The National Office Bearers convened the meeting of the Presidents and
General Secretaries as instructed by the CEC on 11 March 2013. This
meeting decided as follows:
1. To implement the full decision of the CEC -- 'nothing less and
nothing more.'
2. The purpose of the discussion between COSATU affiliated unions'
Presidents and General Secretaries shall be to foster maximum unity
and cohesion in the Federation.
3. In line with the CEC decision, the meeting decided to appoint Petrus
Mashishi, former SAMWU President and a recipient of COSATU's highest
award, the Elijah Barayi Award, and Charles Nupen, a respected
lawyer with extensive experience of mediation. These two will
appoint a senior accountant from a black progressive auditors' firm.
4. The record of the meeting of the CEC on the discussions referred to
above shall be handed over to the two facilitators. The meeting
categorised issues that facilitation shall focus on as follows:
1. Political issues
2. Ideological issues
3. Organisational issues and
4. Administrative issues
5. All issues raised in the meeting of the CEC would then be put to the
facilitated process. The purpose of this facilitated discussion is
to ensure that unity is achieved on all the four issues listed above.
/Extracts from the //*COSATU Constitution
<http://www.cosatu.org.za/docs/policy/2006/consti2006.pdf>*//:/
*5.2 Composition*
The CEC must be composed of the -
5.2.1 NOB's;
5.2.2 Chairperson and Provincial Secretary of each province; and
5.2.3 representatives from affiliates such that there are --
5.2.3.1. two national leaders, one of whom must be a member of the
affiliate, from each affiliate with less than 80 000 members;
5.2.3.2. four national leaders, two of whom must be members of the
affiliate, from each affiliate with more than 80 000 members.
*5.3.1.1.* The CEC must meet at least four times a year.
*5.5 Speaking and voting rights*
5.5.1 The NOB's, the Chairperson and Provincial Secretary of each
province have speaking rights but no voting rights.
5.5.2 The representatives from affiliates have full speaking rights and
voting rights.
*From: http://www.cosatu.org.za/docs/policy/2006/consti2006.pdf*
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