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NUMSA, the United Front and the Movement for Socialism

SpackleFrog

SpackleFrog

Smash showy bell-bottom pants and sporty haircuts
Ok, so as Butchers posted last night, this has happened: http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=12221

This is the NUMSA statement: http://www.numsa.org.za/article/numsa-condemns-killing-three-shopstewards-kwazulu-natal/

This comes after NUMSA has withdrawn all financial support for the ANC and the Tripartite Alliance and declared its intention to set up a United Front between NUMSA and community campaigns/anyone who likes having a go at the ANC and a nice bit of Socialism, which it sees as a potential basis for an explicitly Socialist new workers party. I was at a NUMSA local yesterday where the general consensus was it might have something to do with some ex-NUMSA leaders who have set up an alternative union; called I think MEWUSA but trying to find out some more about. This is likely motivated by SACP types who are very unhappy at NUMSA's break with the ANC - see this for a bit of context, although I've got no links as yet that tell the whole story: http://www.amandla.org.za/amandla-magazine/138-amandla-issue-34/1843-cosatu
 
SpackleFrog said:
...NUMSA has been expelled from COSATU...
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That's fucked up - NUMSA has been waging very effective industrial action on behalf of workers at things like state utility Eskom's major grid infrastructure improvement projects at Kusile and Medupi.

Basically the South African grid is perilously close to collapse, with growing numbers of blackouts, brownouts, and around 1/4 of the existing fleet's units offline due to maintenance issues. The two new mega-stations will take up that slack and meet the growing needs of the country, ultimately providing about 25% of national electrical generation.

Working class South Africans had been brought into supporting these by no means uncontroversial (and massively expensive) projects on the promise of big numbers of new jobs... But naturally enough it turned out that most of these new jobs were only the lowest paid and most menial ones - and it's also these workers who are demobilised first, with the least job security. The promised upskilling and training opportunities were nowhere in sight. This led to some very boisterous protests, strikes and picket line business - which proved rather effective in the circumstances.
 
SpackleFrog said:
Very interesting - and it echoes something that the Economist said ages ago, about how the ANC should split to provide a two party system - one left of centre, one right. I'll look for the article... Basically trying to push the idea of the NUMSA led bloc becoming a social democratic/left of centre alternative to the ANC.
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This is the Economist article which basically says the ANC needs to split to give voters choice.

http://www.economist.com/news/leade...-while-much-rest-continent-clawing-its-way-up
 
More signs that the split of NUMSA represents a realignment of the workers' movement in SA, with wider political implications for the country:

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/arti...-back-down-no-we-wont-back-down/#.VHiWFBDAuyE

That mentions the involvement of Zwelinzima Vavi, who was a long-time scourge of corruption and political backsliding in Cosatu, before he was kicked out. My perception of him from this end of the telescope was that he was one of the good guys, but last year he was hit with rape allegations. . . it's difficult to know what to think at this stage.

E2A: And yeah, he's also been accused of corruption himself -

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/arti...tion-into-abuse-of-cosatu-funds/#.VHiXdhDAuyE
 
DaveCinzano said:
That's fucked up - NUMSA has been waging very effective industrial action on behalf of workers at things like state utility Eskom's major grid infrastructure improvement projects at Kusile and Medupi.

Basically the South African grid is perilously close to collapse, with growing numbers of blackouts, brownouts, and around 1/4 of the existing fleet's units offline due to maintenance issues. The two new mega-stations will take up that slack and meet the growing needs of the country, ultimately providing about 25% of national electrical generation.

Working class South Africans had been brought into supporting these by no means uncontroversial (and massively expensive) projects on the promise of big numbers of new jobs... But naturally enough it turned out that most of these new jobs were only the lowest paid and most menial ones - and it's also these workers who are demobilised first, with the least job security. The promised upskilling and training opportunities were nowhere in sight. This led to some very boisterous protests, strikes and picket line business - which proved rather effective in the circumstances.
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Got anymore links on that side of the story? Leaders come and go, but boisterous protests are worth more in the long-term, if what you say is correct. . .
 
Idris2002 said:
Got anymore links on that side of the story? Leaders come and go, but boisterous protests are worth more in the long-term, if what you say is correct. . .
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From a reliable source.

January 2013:

...A number of riots and strikes have affected and still affect the progress of construction.

Commissioning activities remain contingent on the issue of the current strikes affecting the site. They should start in February 2013...​

February 2013:

...The riots I mentioned previously have led to the closure of the site by Eskom for safety reasons. The site remains officially closed as of today, as no agreement with the unions has yet been agreed on the return-to-work conditions of their affiliated workers. Things are unlikely to move forward before the middle of the year...​

July 2014:

...There have yet again been major delays to the schedule. This is mainly due to the effect of NUMSA's national strike which began at the start of the month and which is still going on...​


November 2014:

...The challenge we had, the challenge we still have, is management of the workforce. It's like that for all the contractors on site. And the site, and the workforce, is unionised, and the union has a lot of power.

The last strike that we had on site was in July 2014, that lasted for a month, and which was a nationwide strike, caused by NUMSA.

And this is what I would say is still affecting the progress of the works. Since end of July workforce came back to site, no further hire issues. But who knows what could happen at the beginning of next year. Because unfortunately as the commissioning activities are progressing on first unit, there are also construction activities, and are competing on the last unit. For example, [...], that means we’ll have to go through a demobilisation process of roughly six hundred people, and you never know how smooth that process will go. You have to follow the due process, and it will involve Eskom, it will involve the unions, so they are aware of the demobilisation plan.

But there is still what I would consider a risk, because a lot of community will start to realise - and some have already started to realise - that people will be losing their jobs. Well, not losing their jobs, but there is no more longer... No more activities for them.

This is also bringing a lot of pressure from the local community to Eskom, and Eskom is also putting that pressure back to the contractors, in order to find [...], and to slow down the demobilisation process, to try to retrain the people before they leave site. So there is still a lot of pressure, that could induce some further hire issues beginning of next year...​
 
Thanks for that DaveCinzano . I suspect this is why the Economist is urging a parting of the ways between right and left in the triple alliance - because they hope that the former will become a union-busting Afro-Thatcherite party. Good luck with that one, lads.
 
I should perhaps add that on this project, all the principal contractors are global companies, and all of them are contractually obliged to be ‘BEE compliant’. Examples of ‘Black Economic Empowerment’ compliance would include hiring black owned sub-contractors, procurement of materials and equipment from black-owned supply companies (or BEE compliant ones), employment of black staff, and development of work skills of black staff - particularly women.

Before work started, there were optimistic claims that nearly half this project would be manufactured locally, creating hundreds of jobs, both direct and in support, and massively boosting the local economy.

It's safe to say that such optimism was misplaced. Having said that, optimism abounds on this project. Eskom is still claiming to the government that the first unit will be synchronised to the grid by the end of the year :D
 
Going back to the suggestion of intimidation and worse from the OP, now we have:

Mystery document alleges Numsa is bent on regime change

Some of the people named in the document as “plotters” include former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils, Professor Chris Malekane, Professor Peter Jordi and Moeletsi Mbeki, brother of former president Thabo Mbeki. Various international “plotters” are also named, from countries including Germany, Venezuela and the Philippines.

The document alleges that the role-players want to effect regime change and “influence and confuse South African communities using socialist rhetoric”.

These “plotters” also want to address inequality using “forceful methods” such as “land grabs” and the destabilisation of the mining sector, the document alleges.
Click to expand...

At least two individuals named in the document, Professor Patrick Bond of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Azwell Banda, a former Zambian trade unionist, have been the victims of crime recently, in what appears to be attempts to intimidate them.

Banda’s car was broken into last week and Bond’s office was ransacked and his hard drive was stolen last Sunday. It appears as if a second break-in was attempted, but this time only the lock to his office was damaged.
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I'm on email list with Bond and his emails always come through layer after layer of security - seems that is a wise move.

The NUMSA response.
 
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Idris2002 said:
Thanks for that DaveCinzano . I suspect this is why the Economist is urging a parting of the ways between right and left in the triple alliance - because they hope that the former will become a union-busting Afro-Thatcherite party. Good luck with that one, lads.
Click to expand...

Actually the ANC are well on the way to being the union-busting Afro-Thatcherite party - I think they're hoping for a social democratic split to come from the ANC.
 
SpackleFrog said:
Actually the ANC are well on the way to being the union-busting Afro-Thatcherite party - I think they're hoping for a social democratic split to come from the ANC.
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And this split wouldn't be led by "crazies" like Malema. Gotcha.

It may turn out to be far too late for anything like that.
 
Idris2002 said:
More signs that the split of NUMSA represents a realignment of the workers' movement in SA, with wider political implications for the country:

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/arti...-back-down-no-we-wont-back-down/#.VHiWFBDAuyE

That mentions the involvement of Zwelinzima Vavi, who was a long-time scourge of corruption and political backsliding in Cosatu, before he was kicked out. My perception of him from this end of the telescope was that he was one of the good guys, but last year he was hit with rape allegations. . . it's difficult to know what to think at this stage.

E2A: And yeah, he's also been accused of corruption himself -

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-11-22-vavi-faces-more-damning-allegations-new-investigation-into-abuse-of-cosatu-funds/#.VHiXdhDAuyE
Click to expand...

The rape allegations make me feel uncomfortable - they were withdrawn though and the complainant said the sex was consensual. I'd say its roughly 50/50 whether he used his power and position to force a women into sex (which is obviously rape to be clear) and whether the whole thing was a way to shut him up. Either way, it shut him up.

Side note: I had a meeting in COSATU house with someone who, when this came up in conversation, pointed at an office across the way and said "Yeah, that's where the magic happened", much to my surprise.
 
Idris2002 said:
And this split wouldn't be led by "crazies" like Malema. Gotcha.

It may turn out to be far too late for anything like that.
Click to expand...

I think Malema could work for them - he's not as radical as he likes to make out, if that's what you mean by "crazies".
 
SpackleFrog said:
I think Malema could work for them - he's not as radical as he likes to make out, if that's what you mean by "crazies".
Click to expand...
B4aOYNbCIAAQNVd.jpg:large
 
Idris2002 said:
Skin and hair flying among the red berets:

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/arti...f-peoples-assembly-takes-a-turn/#.VJBBPRDAuyE
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Thanks for this, didn't see it myself! It sounds about right - EFF are a very mixed bag as you might have guessed. Malema didn't build it to play a supporting role to anyone - he sees it as his. There are genuine socialists in and around EFF - I met some who fucking hate Malema. There's also a stron black nationalist current.

What I didn't expect is Andile Mngxitama to refuse to take his CCT place, which is presumably a snub to Malema.

Andile is a bit of a nasty piece of work, IMO.

Idris2002 said:
Meanwhile the launch of the United Front is not quite a damp squib, but does not augur well all the same:

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/arti...-as-udf-2.0-but-fails-to-ignite/#.VJBIuRDAuyE

SpackleFrog what do you make of these two stories?
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This I did see - again sounds about right.

Thing about NUMSA is, in terms of internal democracy, workplace militancy and the stuff they know about, they've come out of 20 years in the Tripartite Alliance remarkably well. They never wanted to join the Alliance to begin with but lost the argument in COSATU over that and abided by the majority decision.

But COSATU's leadership has persistently raised massive barriers to its affiliates to working with communities as NUMSA wants to do with the United Front. They don't really have a lot of experience with it, and the leadership aren't as keen on it as the membership are (who have even less experience having largely not been of age during the anti-apartheid struggle). They're gonna have a few false starts working out how to do all this, and also because NUMSA is pretty free and easy in terms of politics (provided you accept majority decisions) there are a range of socialists, communists and black nationalists.
 
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Spanky Longhorn said:
the racists love Zuma
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Talking of which, British flacks-for-hire Bell Pottinger have got caught up in some awkward business in South Africa, spinning narratives to undermine critics of Zuma (and the Guptas):

South African media and civil society groups accused the PR firm of presenting opponents of the Guptas and Mr Zuma as “white monopoly capital”, including engineering fake social-media profiles amplifying attacks.

Bell Pottinger, which denied wrongdoing, terminated its year-long ties with Oakbay in April, saying it had been the victim of a political smear campaign.

But pressure on the firm increased in recent weeks as the South African press leaked emails purportedly showing Bell Pottinger partners working with Gupta employees to prepare a campaign highlighting “economic apartheid.”

Last week the UK’s Public Relations and Communications Association, an industry body, launched its own investigation into Bell Pottinger after South Africa’s main opposition Democratic Alliance brought a complaint.
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Subscribe to read

The Gupta PR firm who created 'white monopoly capital' narrative now under investigation in UK

PR firm Bell Pottinger apologises over S Africa campaign - BBC News
 
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