Zwelinzima Vavi speech at BOPEU Congress
Correspondent | Monday December 7, 2015 16:15
This has been a real tragedy for many of us, who spent years building the Federation.
The decision to derail the Federation, and turn it into a conveyor belt for Government, was not an accident, but a deliberate act, a conscious strategy to ensure that COSATU did not challenge Government’s slide into full-scale neo-liberalism.
All these developments have led to a procession of breakaway unions, as workers who have been purged or become disillusioned with their leaders have formed new unions:
I have spent some time of the organisational and procedural aspects of this story, but the most relevant lessons for this gathering today relate to the underlying political reason for the implosion of COSATU and the further fragmentation of the trade union movement in our region.
The harsh reality is that the ruling class has stolen COSATU and many of its affiliates, in a capitalist class offensive to divide and weaken the organised working class. I do not apologise for saying this, but the current COSATU leadership have been pawns in a much bigger conspiracy, though as willing accomplices, they are no less guilty.
The overall aim in line with government’s neo-liberal free-market policies has been to enable white monopoly capital to exploit a weaker and more divided union movement, cut wages, outsource more jobs to labour brokers, and ensure that the rich get even richer and increase their already massive profits.
What makes it even more serious is the emerging evidence that many union leaders are not merely supporting pro-capitalist policies, but are themselves in business, using workers’ money which is invested in trusts and funds, to enrich themselves, even becoming involved in companies in which unions members are in dispute with the employers.
COSATU, once a bastion of integrity and democracy, regarded by large sections of the public for its high moral and political authority has degenerated, and has been captured and manipulated by anti-working class forces.
What are the lessons we must learn from this tragedy?
The clear lesson those of us who have parted ways with COSATU have learned is that trade unions must be democratic, worker-controlled and independent. The biggest threat to independence used to come from employers’ ‘sweet-heart’ unions, but today the biggest threat comes from the state and ruling parties.
Those union movements that enjoyed close political relationships with their respective liberation movements seem to be the main victims of efforts to divide and fragment them. COSATU and NUNW of Namibia, though from slightly different backgrounds, the Z(a)CTU of Zambia, Z(i)CTU of Zimbabwe, the OTM of Mozambique, and the UNTA of Angola. All of these have split and fragmented under pressure to be silent in the face of the onslaught of neo-liberalism. Today most of are a shadow of their former selves.
Whilst this tragedy is unfolding, workers are in a perilous economic and social crisis. Unemployment is destroying a generation of young workers. Chronic levels of poverty are decimating communities and stunting the development of millions of children. Two of the most unequal countries in the world are found in our region - South Africa and Namibia. Incidentally, both union movements enjoyed the closest political relations with the liberation movement - the ANC and SWAPO respectively. Both countries were liberated last and they faced the same apartheid monster and master. The fundamental question is why is this so when we should assume this relationship should benefit the working class socio-economically. This matter requires a full day’s debate, but I have no doubt that some of the lessons from this include the following:
1. That unions sign blank cheques to the liberation movements guaranteeing that they will mobilise workers to vote them into power without insisting on reciprocal actions to benefit workers.
2. Trade unions are by their nature a school to produce leadership for society. The trade union leadership only serves during the prime of their lives and then they must move on. Where do they move on to?
Both capital and political parties target trained union leaders for co-option but also because they are trained through workers’ money. In the case of the Alliance in South Africa and in Namibia where unions are actually affiliated to the liberation movement this situation is worst. Union movements have been ‘domesticated’ and once militant and robust unions are now used as platforms to advance the careers of former trade unionists in government.
Our response to this can’t be that we simply adopt a back-to-basics or back-to-the -trade-union-barracks approach.
Any attempt to interpret trade union independence to mean that workers must divorce themselves from the politics of the country will not only be reactionary but counterproductive.
Our very DNA as workers is politics. Every demand and every campaign we take up is political and ideologically inspired. No one can divorce workers from both local, national and global politics, There is no room for neutrality in particular in a class divided societies Botswana included.
The question we must learn from the experiences of our region is how do we avoid external political manipulation and how do we guarantee trade union independence even when we warm up to political parties that have policies not hostile to those we seek to advance?
Decent work and conditions do not fall down from the sky like manna. Progressive and pro working class and or pro poor policies do not just happen on their own. Even ripe fruit often means someone must shake the trees for it to fall.
That’s what revolution is all about. Nothing ever just happens automatically. Change can only happen when there are champions for change. BOPEU must from this historic congress ask itself - who will be the champions for change in Botswana if it’s not going to be yourselves working with the rest of the progressive forces?
BOPEU has a formidable reputation across the region. It is a union formation that has worked hard to provide services for its membership.
It has been visionary, especially in using members money to enhance social provision. It is a union formation that takes great care to ensure that its resources are used wisely, and transparently so that workers know where their subscriptions are being used and for what purpose.
For now it appears that BOPEU has been able to maintain its independence, and has not allowed itself to be used by politicians. We sincerely hope this approach is maintained, but forgive for saying this, but the ‘price of democracy is eternal vigilance!
There will be those forces that at every turn will try and influence BOPEU, they will try and blunt your militancy, they will try and undermine your independence and internal democracy.
They will try and seduce your leadership, and encourage them to see that they no longer have distinct class interests to protect.
We need to ensure that we share and learn these lessons from one another. We have to be candid and frank with each other.
Never has there been a greater need for a strong, united and independent workers’ movement, but most our federations in the region have been paralysed.
We can either stay with those who kow-tow to the ruling elite and the capitalist class, or we can unite the entire working class and poor communities to rebuild a labour movement based on democratic mandates, accountability and mass campaigning.
That is why those of us now outside COSATU are working towards a Workers’ Summit, bringing together the workers from all federations, including COSATU, all unions, non-union workers and the unemployed. It is our only chance to turn the tide and revive the militancy of the original COSATU.
My comradely advice to all of you, is to ensure that you revisit the principles that our movements were founded upon, and ensure that they are followed as they were years ago, to build a strong, independent, democratic and determined BOPEU.
Comrades, we need to forge a new fighting force to take on the bosses but it must be as broad-based and democratic as possible, and organised from the bottom up, with policies hammered out by the members themselves and leaders elected, accountable and subject to recall.
We need to ensure that there is no gap between union members and union leaders. They must be organically linked, so that no one, no counter force, is able to exploit the gaps that have opened up, and divert us from our historic mission.
We have to be models of accountable democracy! Our unions were formed to represent workers, but also to ensure that we live in a society that reflects the values and principles that guide us. This is our mission. Let us work together to achieve it. I wish you a successful congress. I thank you Maatla ke arona ! Amandla ngawethu!