Political Resolutions of the COSATU 9th National Congress, 18-21 September 2006

Declaration of COSATU’s Ninth National Congress
18-21 September 2006, Johannesburg

We delegates, gathered at our Ninth National Congress, representing 1.8 million members, hereby declare to the country and the world:

COSATU has now concluded two decades of existence and is moving towards its 30th anniversary in 2015. We are proud of this history of bold, principled, determined and steadfast struggles to improve the lot of the downtrodden masses of our people. We are deeply indebted to the pioneers who built the democratic trade union movement and the broader liberation movement and vow not to betray their vision, dreams and hopes.

We came to this Congress against a backdrop of speculation about the state of the organisation and the unity of our leadership. We hereby declare that COSATU remains a strong, vibrant, united and democratic trade union movement, passionate about economic and social justice. We emerge out of Congress encouraged and emboldened by the achievements of the Federation in the past three years and more. This gives us the determination to redouble our efforts to strengthen our movement, fight for workers’ rights and deepen democracy.

We were thrilled by the vindication of COSATU by the judge of the High Court in the case involving the state and the ANC Deputy President Jacob Zuma. Fifty-one years ago, our people demanded that “all shall be equal before the law.” Our Constitution takes this principle forward through amongst others the principle that a person is innocent until proven guilty. We reiterate what our Third Central Committee said: Comrade Jacob Zuma is a victim of political conspiracy. It is now clear that the decision to dismiss him and later charge him was motivated by a political decision, not by existence of proof that he acted corruptly as alleged by his detractors. We demand that the NPA, media and so-called political analysts respect the decision of the court and leave Zuma alone.

We also came here at a time when market fundamentalism and neo-liberalism have again failed humanity. The gap dividing the poor and the rich is widening both between and within countries. In South Africa, we continue to see mass poverty, high unemployment, starvation wages for many workers and rising rates of HIV and AIDS.
Yet a new world is both possible and desirable. We shall spare no effort, energy or resources to realise a just, humane and equitable world.
Believing that we have entered a new phase of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR), we are further encouraged by the following:

o        COSATU remains the union of choice among the workers and we must live up to the faith that workers have in the Federation, and their commitment to it. We realise that this places on us a heavy responsibility to meet the needs of our members.

o        COSATU’s membership increased by 4% in the last three years, reversing the decline in membership experienced in the run-up to the Eighth National Congress. This membership growth attests to the fact that only through taking up struggles and a conscious recruitment campaign can we draw more workers to the fold. It is only in sectors with high union density that labour rights have become a reality. It is only through solidarity and organisation that workers can enjoy better working conditions. We have taken concrete decisions to improve solidarity amongst all affiliates of the Federation and to strengthen the effectiveness of our Living Wage Campaign.

o        COSATU and its affiliates derive almost all their income from their members. To us this is a major achievement that shows COSATU belongs to members and no one else.

o        The world is changing; neo-liberalism has failed and is a discredited ideology. Rich countries are unable to impose their will without challenge from developing countries, as reflected in the collapsed trade negotiations. Left-wing governments have been installed in a number of Latin American countries, shifting the balance of forces in the Western hemisphere.

We remain disappointed that the government has not adopted a far-reaching programme to transform the economy in favour of working people and the poor. Still, thanks in part to the campaigns waged by COSATU, the government has changed aspects of its policy in a manner that seeks to address some of the criticisms we have been raising. This gives us hope that we can conquer under-development, poverty and unemployment. Above all, the government has finally set targets to reduce unemployment and poverty, and has substantially increased its spending on services and infrastructure for our people. The recent agreement to reduce clothing imports from China points to the emergence of a more nuanced approach to trade.
Yet more can and should be done, and we resolve to intensify our campaigns on all fronts. Congress agreed to convene a Central Committee in September 2007 to discuss the class project that came to the fore in 1996, with the adoption of GEAR, which saw capital re-assert its influence over national economic policy.

We declare that this decade of democracy should be the decade of the working class and hereby resolve:
1. To make the Jobs and Poverty Campaign the centrepiece of our programme in the coming period. This will involve a number of coordinated campaigns focused on:

a. The living wage for workers as a primary means to fight poverty and close the apartheid wage gap and broader inequalities in our society;
b. A comprehensive plan to create quality employment on a large scale;
c. A campaign against privatisation and job losses, and for the nationalisation of SASOL and other commanding heights of the economy;
d. A call for an increase in taxes on company profits;
e. Revision of trade and industrial policy as well as fiscal and monetary strategies to align with the objective of protecting and creating employment;
f. A re-invigorated Proudly South African Buy Local Campaign;
g. A review of competition policy and legislation to support job security and employment creations;
h. Development of a job-loss monitoring mechanism to keep tabs on job losses in the economy; and
i. Formation of a united front against poverty and unemployment.

2. To fight for the rights of workers as the fundamental basis of South Africa’s labour market policy. In this regard

a. We will ensure every worker belongs to a COSATU union, since it is only through COSATU unions that workers can take advantage of their rights in the law.
b. We commit ourselves to resist with all our energy and power attempts to reduce the rights of workers under the guise of “labour market flexibility.”
c. We will seek to strengthen the rights of workers in small businesses, with a combination of an organising strategy and protection of the rights in the law.
d. We will undertake a concerted campaign to improve organisation and conditions of farm workers.
e. We will defend and expand bargaining councils as a means of securing wage coverage and improved dispute settlement for large numbers of workers.
f. We will ensure full protection of casual and sub-contracted workers through changes in the labour laws and through the creation of decent jobs, and by fighting for the conversion of temporary employment into full-time employment.
g. We will work for an end to police brutality and unlawful restrictions on workers’ right to demonstrate.
h. We will ensure that government procurement policy helps to enforce better labour standards.
i. We will fight for retention of the labour courts and NEDLAC’s role in the appointment of labour court judges. In particular, we will serve a notice at NEDLAC under Section 77 of the LRA to oppose judicial reforms that undermine the gains in the LRA.
j. We will strengthen the fight against dismissals and retrenchments and challenge cases that undermine or overturn workers’ gains in the labour law.
k. We will defend workers’ organisational rights, including the right to picket, and call for the review of labour laws with regard to essential services, secondary strikes, and so forth.
l. We will generally work to ensure better enforcement and monitoring of labour laws.
m. We will fight against racism and sexism in the workplace and to that end ensure that workers benefit from skills and equity legislation.
n. We will defend the rights of all vulnerable workers with special attention to farm, domestic, casual and sub contracted workers.
o. We will demand that trading be banned on our main national days.

3. To rebuild our industrial and economic base through the sharper, focused use of industrial and trade policies. To this end:

a. The development of economic policies must rest on inputs by working people and the poor through the Alliance. Once the Alliance has endorsed a development strategy, all the organs of the state must implement it purposefully and strongly, without fearing to discipline capital where necessary, based on the mobilisation of our people to defend their demands and interests.

b. The most important interventions must support:

o        Labour-intensive activities;

o        More equitable ownership, especially collective ownership through the state, worker control and co-ops, including through nationalisation of mining and other commanding heights of the economy as provided in the Freedom Charter;

o        Investment in people and communities through education, skills development, and social programmes like health, welfare and housing;

o        Macro-economic, trade and industrial policies that encourage, rather than stifle, growth in light industry and services;

o        Increased worker organisation and protection for workers’ rights.

c. Measures to achieve these ends include the development of sector strategies that ensure every major industry does more to generate decent work; procurement by the state and big business that supports local production and job creation; efforts to control import-parity pricing; policies to reduce the cost of living by ensuring more efficient and affordable infrastructure and encouraging production of basic goods and services; a redirection of competition policy to protect jobs; and greater encouragement of industries that can create employment and meet the needs of poor communities; and greater support for the development of the entire southern African region.
d. COSATU will continue to work to ensure that workers’ retirement funds are invested in ways that support our transformational aims while meeting the needs of workers.

4. In order to ensure that broad-based black economic empowerment benefits the majority, it should be separated from privatisation and outsourcing; ensure an expansion of worker and community ownership, collective ownership through cooperatives and ownership by the state; close the wage gap and ensure decent work and pay for all workers, particularly black, women and casual workers; and be linked to local procurement. COSATU will engage with all BEE Charters and with the BEE Codes of Good Practice to ensure they meet the needs of working people and the poor.
5. To ensure a strong developmental focus to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This will include demanding a framework agreement at NEDLAC on the 2010 World Cup with the following aspects: local procurement; employment creation; infrastructure development; enforcement of labour standards; clear BEE guidelines; promotion of co-ops; access to matches; and development of local football.
6. To hold a Conference on Strengthening Democracy by mid-2007 that will review issues such as constituency-based representation, regional and local-government demarcation and the role of provinces.
7. To build NEDLAC as the central forum for social dialogue, through strengthening organised labour’s focus, internal capacity and coordination. This involves:

a. Developing better procedures for mandating within COSATU and labour more broadly and improved coordination of our involvement in NEDLAC. This will also include better communication and education for our members on NEDLAC engagements and agreements;
b. Improved resourcing of NEDLAC to ensure that it has adequate resources to conduct its work;
c. Ensuring that major policy and legislation is tabled and negotiated at NEDLAC. To that end, COSATU will work to make sure that other forums like the Presidential Working Group and the Millennium Labour Council do not displace NEDLAC as a premier institution for social dialogue.

8. To intensity solidarity between workers and affiliates. Our resolve to intensify solidarity will include setting up a solidarity fund; embarking on mass pickets in support of ongoing strikes; and a strategy in COSATU organising to co-ordinate solidarity. Further, we will review labour legislation concerning secondary/solidarity strikes.
9. To redouble our efforts to build strong and united trade unions with the following elements:

a. Step up the recruitment campaign with renewed focus on organising workers that remain outside the labour movement such as workers in smaller companies with under 20 workers, domestic and farm workers, sub-contracted and temporary workers, women and young workers;
b. Rebuild our structures at local, provincial and national level including by ensuring allocation of adequate resources;
c. Strengthen organisational development work to ensure better management of our organisation and resources;
d. Maintain internal coherence and discipline within the ranks of the trade union movement. For that reason, we will ensure democratic space to raise issues so that no member feels marginalised and excluded;
e. Build a strong, united, democratic and independent trade union movement on the African continent and globally.
10. We will continue to build a unified struggle to defeat HIV and AIDS, ensuring that all our people have access to

adequate solidarity, information, prevention, testing, treatment and nutrition. We recognise that this is only possible if the public health sector is qualitatively strengthened. We will expand our work with the TAC, the SACC and SANGOCO, build the new SANAC and hold a national civil society conference on HIV and AIDS.
11. Congress endorsed the 2015 Plan, which argued that we must strengthen the Alliance, the ANC and the SACP, as well as COSATU, in order to ensure that a stronger working class bias as well as greater ability to guide the state. Having said that, we will encourage a debate within the Alliance about the following:

a. Combating centralisation of patronage;
b. Ideological differences within the Alliance;
c. Growing class contradictions within our society and movement;
d. Strengthening an independent programme of the Alliance partners;
e. The need for a structured agreement/pact/accord between the parties on the minimum programme to advance the NDR under the current conditions.

12. In light of the control of the media by interests outside of and often opposed to the working class, Congress agreed that COSATU would explore the possibility of establishing a workers’ newspaper.
13. International solidarity remains a critical principle for COSATU. Congress resolves to build the solidarity of workers together with all anti-imperialist forces with the following elements:

a. We will seek to develop the practical solidarity of workers against the multinationals that today dominate the global economy. We will actively develop relations with other unions. We call again for the formation of a single continental confederation for Africa.
b. We will continue to support the struggles of workers against regimes that are hostile to their rights. We have shown and will continue to show active solidarity with workers in Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Australia in the face of anti-labour states.
c. Congress expresses its solidarity with the peoples the Middle East. We will campaign for an end to the armed aggression of the U.S., Israel and their allies in the region. We call for the release of Palestinians, Iraqis and others held unjustly and without charge. We call on COSATU members to boycott Israeli goods and to demonstrate at the embassies of the U.S. and Israel. Our government should withdraw its ambassador from Israel and the Israeli ambassador to South Africa should be expelled.
d. Congress expresses its solidarity with the people of Cuba. We demand an end to U.S. aggression and threats of invasion. We also demand the release of the five Cuban heroes, and will campaign actively for their release. At the same time, we recognise and support the new progressive governments in Latin America.
e. We will campaign for ratification of the ILO Conventions on home workers, part-time work, maternity protection, private employment agencies, safety and health in agriculture, employers’ insolvency, collective bargaining and employment policy. On the basis of the new ILO Recommendation on the Employment Relationship, we will campaign for the rights for workers in multiple contractual arrangements, including through joint and several liability on both the employer and the contracting party; reforms in legislation to ensure quick and easy determination of the existence of an employment relationship; measures in southern Africa to combat disguised employment relationships; and the extension of the Employment Conditions Commission or CCMA mandate to include regular reviews of ambiguous employment situations to ensure workers receive the full protection of the employment relationship.