Issue 18, Vol 10: 27 September 2013 In this issue:
Reflections on the role of young workers: the current phase of our struggle Mr Julius Malema was an enemy within and a sell-out Reflections on the role of young workers: the current phase of our struggle National Union of Mineworkers Regional Youth Forum Launch YCLSA Gauteng Presentation Deputy Provincial Secretary Takalani Mmbengeni Introduction The NUM must be congratulated for taking the step of launching its Youth Forum. This has opened a new chapter in the history of youth activism in our movement and society and it is a correct response to the challenges and opportunities faced by the union. This document is a contribution to the conceptualisation of the role that young workers should play in the national democratic revolution and the struggle for socialism, and builds on the foundations laid by the document that was presented in May at the National Launch of the NUM Youth Forum on behalf of the YCLSA by comrade Malesela Maleka. The contents of that document remains as relevant and as valid ever and cannot be overemphasised. This document is arranged in to two small sections. The first sections briefly highlights some of but the key challenges faced by the workers with focus on the youth. The second sections grapples with an answer to the question: What is to be done? The question was posed by Lenin in one of his seminal contributions in the development of the theory of working class organisation. In ‘What is to be done?’, Lenin among others tackles negative tendencies such as economism (or syndicalism or workerism) in the working class movement. He clearly puts forward measures that are pertinent to unity and cohesion in the movement. There are important lessons to be learned in Lenin’s contribution in relation to the state of the progressive trade union movement in South Africa today. It is suggested that the contribution as such be made available, studied and used as one of our reference materials. The synopsis of the challenges faced by workers The profile of the employed South African workforce has changed significantly in the last nineteen years, including age, gender and educational profiles. Expectations and perceptions about the capacity of a job to deliver a better life for all have also changed quite significantly, often without regard to exploitation - the main barrier to a better life for all. This occurs in the context of hyper competition in all spheres of human activity, coupled with persistently high levels of inequality, poverty and unemployment - all of which are caused and driven fundamentally by the exploitation of labour by capital and the developing world (largely former colonies) by the imperialist world (largely leading capitalist economies). Pressure has mounted over trade unions to meet the expectations and perceptions of young workers about the capacity of a job to deliver a better life for all (Unfortunately a job, i.e. work transformed into commodity relations and therefore capitalist social relations of production is inherently incapable of delivering a better life for all). Similarly, this occurs under the context where there are mushrooming unions which are campaigning in ways that deepen those expectations and perceptions which they have never attained. The above is coupled with, if not often no aided by, mounting attacks in the media and through the use of violence as we have seen against established unions. The challenges that the NUM faced in the Rustenburg platinum belt, the gold fields in the west of the Witwatersand and some mining areas in Limpopo represent a typical example. In addition, competition has deepened within and between unions to the extent the fundamental principles of solidarity have been compromised. Everyday internal trade union activities are unable to escape from consistent preparation by others to contest leadership positions. Most worrying about this phenomenon is that the capitalists are now involved and they sponsor factions within trade unions to contest leadership and therefore control over, and the seizure of, trade unions. The public was informed about this played itself out in the last National Congress of the NUM where there was a failed attempt to hijack the union. Between trade unions, even those affiliated to one and the same federation, the principles of solidarity have been compromised. The decline of one union represents a gain for another union. What is this? In the workplace the working class has been restructured and fragmented. Permanent employment contracts have come under attack. More and more temporary employment contracts are taking the place of permanent employment contracts. This is visible through labour brokers, casualisation, perpetual temporary employment contracts and outsourcing. The character of production has been altered and inserted into the logic of the highly fluctuating market mechanism. Production volumes are revised at an instance dependent on the fluctuations in the market mechanism. Short time, temporary layoffs and retrenchments are therefore the daily experiences of the workers. With the hanging character of employment wages have come under attack. The workers who are employed under labour brokers earn lower wages than they would otherwise have if they were employed by their “primary employers”. Similarly, those who are on temporary employment contracts and those who are casualised face less or more of a similar treatment. These workers are largely excluded from many of the negotiated benefits such as medical and aid and retirement funds. They are also easily dismissible. What is to be done? We must close ranks. We must develop our capacity to identify the enemy within who is disguised in the same colours that we wear and the agents of the enemy without. This, however, must not distract us from focusing on the enemy without. In both cases we must be decisive and unite workers and face the enemy and his agents. The NUM has taken a bold step in launching its Youth Forum. This should strengthen the capacity of the union to stand up to the enemy and his agents. But the NUM Youth Forum needs to work closely with organisations of the working class youth, in particular the YCLSA. This must involve joint and thoroughgoing political education and ideological training programmes to weld together in thinking and in action all young workers within the sectors organised by the NUM. Working together we must drive recruitment for the NUM, and become its leading campaigning machinery in general and among young workers in particular. How the NUM Youth Forum drives recruitment and the campaigning programme of the union must be different, i.e. it must visibly be youthful in character and must be attractive to young workers. The NUM Youth Forum must encourage young workers to join and take active involvement in the YCLSA and other formations of the Progressive Youth Alliance as well as the revolutionary alliance of the ANC, SACP and COSATU. This alliance is the most suited form of organisation to take our revolution and our society forward. As young workers would be aware, the battles taking place and won at the workplace can easily be undermined by the developments taking place in the broader political spectrum. It is therefore in the interest of workers to take part in the broader political spectrum and be involved in revolutionary formations. Likewise, acting like an opposition to one’s own movement should be considered to be a sign of lack of involvement and influence in that movement if not factionalism. It is not a sign of strength. Those who think that they can leave the alliance and challenge it head-on outside must learn from their failure to achieve influence when they were still in the alliance that they will not succeed against the alliance in the rest of the society. Similarly, those who are threatening to live COSATU - either as a threat on its own or a bargaining tactic, or both - will learn their due lessons. They will soon discover that they are guided by illusions. But it is part of our responsibility to help them make this discovery quicker than they would ordinarily do so by themselves. We must do so programmatically and systemically. In the same light, we must combat factionalism, opportunism and personality cult within the ranks of our movement as a working class. There should be no individual who is placed above the movement. As a matter of fact, the success of our revolution depends on the maximum unity of the working class in alliance with progressive strata. It is important therefore to emphasise the significance of a united alliance, a united COSATU and united COSATU affiliates as well as political activism by workers guided by a correct politics. Complete political liberation and socio-economic emancipation including a better life for all will not be attained from collective bargaining but from the victory of the working class in the broader political spectrum. It is that victory which will for the first time make it possible for the working class to take control and ownership of the workplace and exercise its will not only at the workplace but in the rest of the society. This is, however, an international struggle rather than an isolated sectoral or national struggle which might just be defeated or have its potential constrained by the international dominance of the capitalist system. We must therefore be careful and vigilant against those who want our movement to ignore prevailing objective conditions take the path of voluntary ideological disarmament. Mr Julius Malema was an enemy within and a sell-out I am writing this peace with pain to respond to Comrade Panyaza Lesufi’s article in The Star on 16 September 2013. Let me start by quoting one of the greatest philosophers of the Chinese revolution Mao Tse Tung, when he says: “One requirement of Party discipline is that the minority should submit to the majority. If the view of the minority has been rejected, it must support the decision passed by the majority. If necessary, it can bring up the matter for reconsideration at the next meeting, but apart from that it must not act against the decision in any way”. I wonder if Lesufi and Julius Malema will understand this theory and practice elaborated so well by this great revolutionary, Chairman Mao. I wonder if Julius had the time and thus made use of this theory fruitfully to reflect on personal conduct and the requirements of being an ANC member before he was correctly expelled in line with the principle as succinctly captured by Mao. Engaging people by the force of ill-discipline, which is the habit Malema had adopted, is not revolutionary. It is despotic, dictatorial and autocratic to say the least. If Malema really wanted to be in the ANC, he should have subjected himself to the decisions of the majority and if not comfortable he should have waited for the right moment and a proper platform to raise his dissatisfactions unlike hurling insults to the leadership of the ANC. Insulting the leadership of the ANC is the same as insulting the ANC as an organisation as well as the leader of both our alliance and society. When the congress of the ANCYL that was held in Mangaung (University of Free State) where Malema was controversially elected as the President I was a delegate and I voted for him. I sooner regretted electing him, as I realized, that I wasted my support and indirectly contributed to the problems that the ANC as to face. When I elected him I thought he was good and revolutionary, but only to learn very quickly that I lied to myself. I didn’t know that we were installing a counter-revolutionary in a position of power and authority which he was to enjoy abusing as a despot and populist who would stop at nothing to destroy and destabilize our glorious movement from within. I regret millions times for having voted for him. I am asking for forgiveness for putting this ill-disciplined, loosely structured fellow in the top position of responsibility of our movement, the movement of Walter Sisulu, Anton Lembede, Peter Mokaba and many key comrades who led the ANCYL with dignity. Malema does not have respect. He is arrogant, demagogic, insensitive and inconsiderate of others including the elders of the ANC. I am raising my regret with pain because this Malema, who is heavily funded by business moguls to destroy the movement of the people that was led by great leaders with discipline like Oliver Tambo, Chris Hani, Nelson Mandela, Sefako Makgatho, Chief Albert Luthuli, Thabo Mbeki and many other heroes and heroines has now wanted to destroy the biggest progressive trade union movement in the mining sector the National Union of Mineworkers. For him to use or to walk in the blood soil of Marikana and other mines in the country calling for the formation of new union outside NUM is counter-revolutionary. Their fight and demagogic noise to render mines ungovernable is opportunistic and anarchic to say the least and is aimed at feeding their own interests at the expense of the poorest of the poor and the working class. I am now convinced that Malema joined the ANC for his personal interests, not to serve the masses of our people and the working class. Today he is having the “moral fibre” to tell people that they are leaderless while he and his ilk allegedly collapsed Limpopo government through dubious tenders awarded to him, his families and his cronies that he is of late in and out of court. He did not join the ANC to lead the masses of our people for their daily needs. He did not confine himself within the collective policies, programs and constitution of the ANC. He reduced the ANCYL to be a lobby group or petty group instead of being a body of opinion within the confines of the ANC. Indeed if Malema and Lesufi understand the writing of Chairman Mao on discipline, Malema will still be the President of the ANCYL and Limpopo Provincial Executive Committee member of the ANC today and Lesufi would not write that out of order piece to the media but raise his views within the structures of the ANC that he is leading in Gauteng Province as the Provincial Executive Committee member. The ANC doesn’t need Malema and his corruption. The ANC will do better without Malema. There is nothing special about him that some like Lesufi want to elevate above the disciplined rank-and-file of the ANC. Matankana Mothapo is the Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee of the Young Communist League Sent from my iPhone -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. 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