*NATIONAL **UNION** OF METALWORKERS OF **SOUTH AFRICA*** MEDIA LIAISON & INFORMATION PUBLICITY
153 Bree Street c/o Gerard Sekoto, Newtown, Johannesburg, 2001 Tel: 011 689 1700 | Fax 011 833 6330 [email protected] * * * * *NUMSA Central Committee Statement, **Thursday 30 July 2009*** * * The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has held its first Central Committee (CC) for 2009 from Monday 27 July, in Cedar Park, Johannesburg. Numsa’s CC plenary session convenes twice per annum and is the union’s highest decision-making body in between the four-yearly elective National Congresses. The CC is still in session and will adjourn tomorrow, Friday 13 July 2009. Numsa is holding its CC in the context of a recession, sharpening class contradictions and inequalities, and deepening poverty amongst our people as manifested by violent service delivery protests in working class communities in most parts of our country. These protests are a reflection of the failures of the neo-liberal polices that have been pursued, and imposed on South Africa by the 1996 Class Project in the ANC over the past 13 years under the stewardship of former President Thabo Mbeki. These neoliberal policies privileged capital in the past 13 years, and the results are there today for all to see: massive unemployment, rapid deindustrialisation, growing inequalities, mass poverty, and poor service delivery, among other evils. *A call for a new macroeconomic regime* Numsa Central Committee is unanimous that deepening inequalities and poverty, high levels of unemployment, the fact that the “Washington Consensus” has collapsed and the world capitalist system (and South African economy) is in deep recession of a larger magnitude since the Great Depression calls for a decisive shift from current macroeconomic policy and fiscal and monetary policy in line with Polokwane resolutions and the ANC Manifesto. The CC is convinced that South Africa urgently needs industrialising macroeconomic, fiscal and monetary policy regimes that will place decent job creation and social development at the centre of economic activity in the country. Numsa believes that if our revolutionary alliance is to succeed in dealing with the legacy of apartheid backlogs experienced by the working class and the poor as manifested in the problems of service delivery, as called for by the Freedom Charter the movement must transfer the basic wealth of our country back to the people as a whole and develop productive forces toward a truly a better life for all. *Confront the service delivery problems affecting the working class and the poor!* The CC resolved that Numsa within Cosatu and the liberation movement must push for our revolutionary alliance to lead community struggles on service delivery and ensure that all the problems that have been raised are addressed. Formations of the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM) must do all at their capacity to prevent manipulation of these struggles by opportunists and reactionary forces who seek to position themselves for the forthcoming 2011 Local Government Elections. We call on the ANC-led government to convene Local Service Delivery Summits. This will assist in dealing with the core challenges faced by municipalities in discharging their responsibilities on the provision of essential basic services. *Solidarity with the municipal and communications workers!* * * The CC fully supports the ongoing strike by the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and the Communications Workers Union (CWU) for better working conditions, decent wages, and transformation. The struggles of these workers are not mere sectoral, but a reflection of broader of the struggles faced by the working class communities. Metalworkers have a vested interest on where municipal and communications workers will settle. The bosses and their ideologues, some among the leadership of our alliance and neoliberal agents in government are foolishly arguing that because South Africa is in recession, workers must not go on strike! The CC wishes to caution the bosses and neoliberal agents both within and outside government to refrain from blackmailing the workers and their communities from striking. It is precisely because South Africa is in a recession that workers need to be resolute, united and ensure that they are not made to pay for the capitalist system crisis they never caused. It is the capitalists themselves who caused this crisis. *On the **Alliance*** The CC noted the improved relations and unity of purpose within the Allianceat the national level. However the CC is concerned that in provinces, the Alliance relations have not significantly improved, but instead they are mere cosmetic relations. The SACP and COSATU cannot be bullied and undermined by the ANC in provinces and municipalities as if they are beggars or orphans of the ANC. Both the SACP and COSATU are key revolutionary working class organs that enjoy mass support and appeal in their ongoing struggles to build Socialism. We believe that the ANC has a political responsibility to respect and draw political wisdom from our organisations in the interest of taking the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) to its logical conclusion. As Numsa we call on the workers to rise and defeat these forces that want to undermine the working class organs – the SACP and COSATU in the Alliancedeliberations and programmes. The Revolutionary Alliance has a responsibility to implement in totality its maximum programme as encapsulated in the Freedom Charter. As long as the strategic objectives of the National Democratic Revolution and the Freedom Charter have not been achieved by the Alliance, the Allianceis here to stay. *The appointment of Ms Gill Marcus, as Reserve Bank Governor* The CC noted the appointment of Ms Gill Marcus as the new Reserve Bank Governor. The CC hopes that this appointment will provide a breath of fresh air as it relates to the role and mandate of the Reserve Bank in mitigating the current problems faced by workers as imposed by the interacting global and national capitalist crises. The CC sharply observed that over the past years in our country monetary policy continued to retain its neoliberal and conservative character and a one-sided focus on inflation with negative consequences for industrialisation, social development and jobs. The CC also noted that the Reserve bank under the command of Mr Tito Mboweni, who arrogantly refused to receive our memorandum, used interest rates as a blunt instrument to control inflation and disregarded its impact on the value of the currency, investment, employment and social development. We call on the new Governor to explore other mechanisms to control price increases, fight poverty, promote creation of decent work and to abandon the policy of inflation-targeting. NUMSA will in its struggles to propagate for macroeconomic, monetary and fiscal policy regimes that will promote full employment, industrialisation and broad social development continue engaging the Reserve Bank and other organs of state. *Women’s Day Activities * The CC discussed extensively the programme that should be undertaken by our structures as part of Women’s month activities. In the agreed upon programme, Numsa will be working closely with the components of the Allianceand the Progressive Alliance formations, particularly the Young Communist League and the ANC Youth League. We are of the view that the women of our country have suffered a lot as a result of the neo-liberal policies advanced by the democratic government. The majority of sectors that absorbed women have been outsourced and to date the conditions of women as casual workers in the retail industry, cleaning services and the textile industry have strengthened whilst the bosses’ stomachs are filthy full. NUMSA believes that economic policies need to change and reflect the Polokwane springs as part of improving the conditions of women. Our women have been chained prisoners of narrow BEE co-options whilst the majority of our women are recipients of BEE crumbs as conceptualised by the 1996 Class Project. In honour of our women martyrs and heroines metalworkers will be championing struggles to improve the lives of women folk. We call on government to provide, among other things, free female necessities such as sanitary pads and female condoms in public and workplaces. *The call for nationalisation* * * Numsa has been making the call, through all its Congresses, for the transfer of wealth to the people as a whole. We welcome fully the joining by the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) of the revolutionary forces that have constantly been demanding the nationalisation and socialisation. Numsa has noted the shrill attacks on the ANCYL and its leadership, from the mainstream capitalist media and business mouthpieces, precisely because the ANCYL has challenged the dominance of the economy by South Africa’s capitalist class. We believe that only the full transfer of the wealth to the people as a whole will resolve the problems of massive poverty, inequalities, unemployment and poor service delivery. The liberation struggle was not waged, and blood shed, just so that we could maintain and reproduce the Apartheid status quo in the distribution of wealth. To the contrary, the liberation struggle was waged precisely in order to return the wealth of the land to its rightful owners! *Price Fixing* Numsa extremely condemns the criminal price fixing thuggery by the captains of industry. We firmly believe that managers of these companies must be prosecuted and where there are fines, government must direct those monies to the workers trust for job creation. *Fight retrenchments and labour broking!* The CC calls upon all metalworkers to remain resolute and united in the fight against retrenchments, short time, worthless voluntary severance packages, labour brokers and all sorts of anti-working class manoeuvres. The capitalists are determined to pass the cost of their crisis at the work place by punishing the working class. We salute our members for their vigilance and victorious fight against the worst of employers, General Motors South Africa’s unfair retrenchments. *Unity among the South African working class!* * * The CC calls on the working class of South Africa, both in and out of employment, to unite during this most severe and brutal phase of the crisis of global capitalism. Together, we shall triumph against the evil system of capitalism and advance to a humane, truly democratic, Socialist South Africa! Issued by Numsa Central Committee *Contacts* *Media Liaison and Information Publicity* Castro Ngobese, 082 567 3557 Alex Mashilo, 082 9200 308 *General Secretary, * Irvin Jim, 073 157 6384 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. 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