There is a lot of speech-making at Cosatu congress. Speakers from different organisations set out their views before the formal debating on resolutions takes place. In the next few pages, we give you a taste of some of them.
Madisha offers Vavi olive branchWoody Aroun
Addressing delegates at the federation’s 9th National Congress, Cosatu President Willie Madisha promised workers that this congress would be the most “robust and challenging congress” yet. Madisha said that Cosatu owed much to those who sacrificed to the working class in the name of the “broader revolutionary cause”. He went on to assure delegates that the federation remains intact despite perceptions that Cosatu is “less united than before”. Madisha paid tribute to the millions of workers all over the world who suffered at the hands of the bosses and toiled under difficult circumstances, often endangering their lives while the profiteers sat in the comfort of their homes. Amongst the challenges that workers faced in South Africa and the world over, Madisha referred to the HIV/AIDS
pandemic, high rates of unemployment (40% in South Africa),low wages, lack of skills and the rise of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) and a broad range of macroeconomic issues that exacerbated poverty. “Why is unemployment rising on a daily basis?” asked the president when there is sustained “propaganda” claiming that jobs are abundant. While South Africa remains a “bourgeois democratic state”, Madisha warned that the country must move towards socialism and that the SACP must stop paying “lip service” to the issue of contesting elections and confront the issue as it presents opportunities for change. On the issue of JZ, Madisha called on delegates to implement the resolution to support the JZ fund and for the trial to be speedily resolved – “justice
delayed is justice denied” he said. Still on the subject of the JZ saga, Madisha said that the matter “has presented itself in many hurtful ways” with the media resorting to political classification of the Cosatu leadership either as Mbeki or Zuma-loyalists and that the “leadership of the federation would be determined according to this classification.” Referring to media reports on the tension and rift between himself and Vavi, Madisha acknowledged the work of the Cosatu leadership and offered Vavi the olive branch for both to collectively pursue the task of building the federation and leading the union. Madisha also pledged solidarity with the people of Palestine and called on workers to support the oppressed people of Palestine. The president then concluded by wishing delegates a successful congress.
Madisha warns the congressPeter Thobejane
The president of Cosatu in his opening address to the Cosatu 9th National Congress told 2500 delegates that one of the key challenges facing the congress was to look at how far Cosatu has implemented the last National Congress resolutions.He reminded delegates that Cosatu was about workers and not officials. Offficials’ duty was to implement the resolutions taken by constitutional structures. While appreciating the government’s agreement with China on quotas, he said that the federation was not happy about the exclusion of labour during the negotiations. He suggested that congress debate the issue of the impact of imports from China on our local market.On the skills issue, he warned delegates to deal with the issue of unskilled cheap labour and examine the work of Setas with regard to addressing these issues. It must also debate and assess workers who sit on the Seta boards.The massive wage discrepancies between the wages of the CEOs of the mines who were receiving R12million per annum and their workers who were getting only R25 000, must be debated by congress delegates he said.