Tuesday, May 20, 2014

COSATU Today
COSATU Press Statements

Decisions of the COSATU North West Provincial Executive Committee Meeting Held on the 15th May 2014
COSATU members demonstrate on May Day 2014.
16 May 2014

COSATU North West held its normal PEC on the 15th and 16th May 2014 at Ngwenya hotel and received a report which amongst other focuses on the following:
1.1 ORGANIZATIONAL

The report was presented to the meeting and the following were highlighted.
i) Poaching

The NOBs at our last PEC requested that the matter of poaching be left to be discussed at national level and what must be looked at in the province must be the communication between Moses Kotane local and SATAWU, on which the PEC have said that a task team must be established to deal with the matter and it must be dealt with now and be reported to the next PEC.

New events of poaching have been reported to the province by SATAWU from other unions. This has an element of increasing tensions in the province and the country. The PEC resolved that all affiliates that have recruited members that do not belong to their scope must be handed over. Our target for recruitment must be the unorganised workers and those who defected to the rival unions against COSATU affiliates.

The last CEC took a decision that all affiliates must submit the sectors in which they are organising so that the CEC can determine if there is poaching or not.

The PEC reflected on the following issues and resolved to intensify our campaigns as we are now out off the election campaign:
· The state of the campaign in the mines and the current strike in the platinum belt
· The campaigns against the toll gate and labour brokers
· The refusal by employers to allow workers to celebrate Workers’ Day.
· The role of COSATU in support of the communities.
· The role of COSATU in building the ANC
· The implementation of the remaining activities for 2014.
· The role of COSATU in the platinum area during the election.
· State of the structures and their work.

ii) State of the affiliates
· Challenge of the submission of reports.
· The matter of poaching
· Intervention in the affiliates.
· Majority of affiliates are in good standing and some are not attending the provincial activities except for May Day and PSSC, this must be discussed with those affiliates as part of building the federation.

iii) State of the locals
· The last PEC took a resolution on rebuilding the locals and was disturbed by the work in the election and on May Day; this will now be carried to our next program from this month.
· There is still a challenge in some locals which are not functional.
· Locals are the backbones of COSATU as the campaigns are implemented in the locals

iv) State of the mining program
Based on the work which we have done in the area, workers have gone back to the union. There is a challenge of violence against those who want to go back to work. The marches which we had in the mines have helped to make workers aware of what is happening in the mines.

We are still calling all affiliates to play their part in working together with the federation, as agreed, in dealing with the challenges facing the mine workers.

We condemned the continuation of the killing, intimidation the threats to workers and call on the SAPS and our government to protect the public including those who want to go to work.

The PEC reaffirmed its position to continue with its program in the mining area to protect workers and members of the communities.
v) May Day assessment
The summary assessment was presented to the PEC and resolved that:
· The full campaigns meeting must be convened to assess both the May Day and election campaign
· That the matter of employers who refuse to allow workers to attend May Day and Election Day, and not giving warning, must be dealt with
· We must deal with issues that affect workers, including those raised by workers during our election campaign,
vi) Campaigns
· Toll gate campaign
Most of the campaigns were successful except the one which was supposed to be on 25 April 2014 which the police interrupted. The outcomes of the first meeting with the national Department of Transport were presented to the meeting.
· Gender based violence
There was a march to the UNW which was poorly attended
· Water and electricity campaign
The PEC took a resolution to support the community in the campaign to demand the provision of water and electricity, which most of the communities in the province do not have.
· Racism
Racism is rife and still continuing and this was even more so during the elections
· Recruitment
We can report that recruitment takes place in the affiliates. There was no report on the details but some unions have shown growth
· Mandela Day and Child Care Day
The activities must be taken seriously by all the PEC members and we should all make sure that we take forward the legacy of comrade Nelson Mandela.

Decisions:
· Reaffirm the decision of the last PEC with regard to poaching of other affiliates.
· Engage with workers who resign from the union.
· Convene a workshop for the local office bearers.
· PEC members to help the locals to run the programs of COSATU.
· Continue to call for the declaration of a state of emergency in Marikana until there is stability.
· Continue to intervene where workers require the intervention of the federation.
· Revive the local socialist forum in all the locals.
· Improve communication in the province.
· Go back to all the campaigns which have been suspended during the elections.
· The campaigns committee to sit and do the May Day and 2014 provincial and national election assessment
· Develop a coordinated campaign on water provision to the communities.
· Deal with challenges of service delivery protests that took place during the election and before.
· Take up all the campaigns of workers including the fight against labour brokers, the e-tolling system, the expensive toll gate and the exploitation of farm workers.

1.2 POLITICAL
i) Assessment of the election results and program:
· The ANC victory from the election
· The challenges faced during the election
· There was anticipation of disruptions in Marikana but this did not happened but there we disruptions in other areas
· There was an appeal of maintaining the relationship which was there with the ANC during the election post the election.
· There were good relations in the alliance.
· The role of the ANC in Marikana
· The role of the ANC councillors in the communities.
· The coming ANC provincial conference and the role of the alliance in the building strong ANC and strong alliance.

There is a need to have a high profile debate on the state of the NDR in our province, linked with the current state of the platinum belt and the current protest in service deliveries.

ii) state of the municipalities
We requested the Auditor General to investigate all the municipalities.
There is an element of corruption in many municipalities; some of them are not able to provide services and we should campaign for some of them to be amalgamated. The issue of health of safety in the municipality is also a problem and we must request the national minister to intervene.

vii) Election assessment
The PEC reaffirmed the position of the POBs and the statement issued by COSATU in congratulating the ANC but registering challenges that made the ANC to reduce the support.
· The assessment of the election campaign was presented in to the PEC and it was urged that the PEC must note the decline in the performance of the ANC in these elections.
· The war rooms in the province were not operational as resolved in the last PEC. Very few members of the PEC were part of the COSATU election program.
· The attack on the COSATU election activities.
· The role of the ANC in the alliance election program.
· The issues raised by workers and communities.
· The shortage of water
· The current state of the municipalities
· The current state of the mining strike in the platinum belt

Decisions:
· Convene an urgent political commission to do an assessment of the NDR and politically analyse and the outcome our election.
· Requested the auditor general to investigate all the municipalities.
· There is an element of corruption in many municipalities and some of them are not able to provide services and we should campaign for some of them to be amalgamated.
· The issue of health of safety in the municipality is also a problem and we must request the national minister to intervene including DOL
· COSATU must build a strong relationship with the ANC and all the alliance partners in the province. In the coming conferences of the ANC members of COSATU must participate from the branches up to the provincial conference.
· The Alliance must start to prepare for a joint campaign for the coming local government election for 2016 using our current results on election.
· COSATU and the entire alliance must be involved in the deployment post the 2014 national and provincial election

1.3 SOCIO –ECONOMIC
The following were highlighted in the socio economic report:
· The state of unemployment in the province.
· The role of the EPWP.
· The effect of the mining strike in the economy.
· The continuation of illegal evection of the farm workers and farm dwellers.

Decisions
The following were decisions were taken on the socio economic:
· Reaffirm the action at the toll gate.
· Develop a campaign on water.
· Engage the ministers of water affairs and local government on the water shortage.
· Engage the ANC on the state of the municipalities.
· The socio economic subcommittee must engage with the ANC
· The COSATU deployees in the board must report to the COSATU PEC.
· Appointment of the hospital boards have not been finalised by the MEC
· The political commission must also look at the matters which are socio-economic and have a bearing on politics.

COSATU PEC NW calls all workers to unite and build a strong federation and that all workers must go back to our principle of an injury to one is injury to all.

We call on all workers in the platinum belt to unite and protect each other and workers must not go back to without proper security; all workers must stay away with full payment in particular those who are not on strike.

We condemned the continuation of killing of workers and call for peace and stability in the platinum belt.

For more information feel free to call COSATU NW Provincial Secretary, Solly Phetoe, on [0823044055]

- See more at: http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=8786#sthash.Mmst7c3U.dpuf

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