Note the quotation from SADTU, second last paragraph. _____
BusinessDay.gif United Front delegates ratify interim leadership body Karl Gernetzky, Business Day, Johannesburg, 15 December 2014 A coalition of leftist and activist forces under the banner of the United Front has resolved to begin campaigning next year, including a protest against austerity as Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene tables the budget in February. The United Front was scheduled to be officially launched this weekend, but this has been delayed until April. About 342 delegates from 71 organisations met in Ekurhuleni instead for a "preparatory assembly" to discuss organisational matters. Amid disagreements on issues such as the use of the term "socialist", delegates formed a 21-person interim leadership body. It resolved that entrenched elites in SA were incapable and unwilling to "give one inch" on policies that could benefit the socioeconomically marginalised. Reading the United Front declaration on Sunday academic Noor Nieftagodien said it must "unite in struggle against the national austerity budget". A mass action in defence of human rights would be held in March, among other programmes. The interim leadership structure includes former African National Congress (ANC) stalwart Ronnie Kasrils, activist Zackie Achmat, and former Nelson Mandela Bay metro mayor and MP Zanoxolo Wayile. They were among 12 individuals elected during United Front commissions at the weekend, while nine others, one elected by each of the provinces, constituted the rest of the steering committee. The United Front encompasses trade unions, social movements, civics, women's organisations, student and youth organisations, but its fate and purpose has to date been intertwined with the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (NUMSA), which has bankrolled much of the organisation. Despite this there had been agreement that the United Front had to fund its own budget at least from April, United Front co-ordinator Dinga Sikwebu said on Sunday. Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) affiliates supporting NUMSA following its expulsion from the federation did attend the United Front assembly. But the uncertainty as COSATU heads to a special national congress next year and ANC intervention to heal rifts, may complicate matters, at least for unions supporting the front. In a statement on Friday, the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) - a supporter of NUMSA - said it would send representation but would distance itself from all efforts to form a new "party-political formation". The South African Democratic Teachers Union on Sunday took FAWU's position as a signal that the United Front had "failed", saying: "It never had any basis for unity in the first place." NUMSA deputy general secretary Karl Cloete on Sunday reiterated that NUMSA would remain a trade union rather than a political party, but said one of the tasks for the United Front should be to ensure that organised labour remained democratic and worker-controlled. From: http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/politics/2014/12/15/united-front-delegates- ratify-interim-leadership-body -- -- 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. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
