The declaration of Numsa National Bargaining Conference held on 24-26 April 2007
We, delegates from the length and breadth of our country representing over 220 000 members, convened a historic National Bargaining Conference (NBC) in Johannesburg. The conference was honoured by messages of support from leaders of fraternal metalworkers unions from Nigeria, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and other neighbouring states, which made Numsa’s historic bargaining conference reflect labour’s heroic struggles internationally.
The realities we are faced withGathered under the theme, “˜confronting the logic of capital through collective bargaining’, it mapped out bargaining strategies informed among others by the following realities:
The negative effects of capitalist globalisation in developing countries;
Economic growth amidst high levels of structural unemployment and persistent poverty;
Sky rocketing profits and executive pay;
Ever declining wages – over 10% since 1995 to 2005, and diminishing workers’ share in the economy from 54% to below 45%;
Rampant increases in fuel and food prices;
Continued attack and erosion of workers’ gains, proliferation of labour brokers and the increase of atypical work;
Severe impact of the conservative monetary policy on the lives of the poor and workers.
This bargaining round – a do or die duelThe three days of our bargaining conference, preceded by months of concerted democratic and worker participation have been characterised by honest, frank and robust debates that have made us emerge united and strong in confronting the logic of capital. We declare to our class enemy, the capitalist class, that
Regardless of all its threats, the forthcoming bargaining round scheduled in all sectors of our organisation constitute a do or die duel in the struggle to advance and defend workers against ruthless exploitation and profiteering underway;
This bargaining conference has emerged with transformative demands that are aimed at addressing socio-economic inequalities entrenched by the barbaric system of capitalism; and
We commit ourselves to bring all the sectors in which we are organised to a full blown strike if our demands are not met.
Key demandsWhilst the conference endorsed a set of transformative demands the following form part of key demands around which we are preparing intensive mobilisation and rallying the society at large in support of our plight:
Three-year agreements that will ensure members in all sectors receive real increases each year, contrary to our past experiences of declining and poverty wages amidst ever rising executive salaries;
An end to labour brokers and all forms of atypical work;
An end to narrow Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) deals that are premised on corrupt logic and replacement with broader economic empowerment that allows redistribution at the point of production, eg Employee Share Ownership Schemes (ESOPS) and Worker-owned Co-operatives;
An end to soft-skills training which is meant to keep workers at the bottom as appendages of production processes and replacement by meaningful up-skilling training made up of clear career paths;
An end to skewed employment equity which favours the elevation of white females at the expense of other previously and historically disadvantaged and return to the spirit of transformative employment equity;
Scrapping of discriminatory threshold requirements which prohibit the union from bargaining on behalf of salaried staff;
An end to unilateral decision-making by Multinational Corporations (MNC) in their foreign headquarters and replacement by meaningful consultation leading to agreements with Numsa on key decisions that affect South African production points.
Renationalise Mittal Steel and SasolWe further reaffirm our 7th National Congress resolution calling for the eradication of import parity pricing that stifles industrial growth and development. We therefore emphasise our call for the re-nationalisation of Mittal Steel, Sasol and other strategic industries. The successful conclusion of the NBC restored our vigour, unity and commitment to mobilise on an ongoing basis to fight and advance to defend our hard-won gains. The struggle to reclaim the gains of the workers and advance ultimate working class victory continues, with an intensive battle against the logic of capital on all fronts.