Johannesburg, 14 September 2007
Programme Director, Cde. Danny Masemola, President of FAWU,
The leadership of FAWU,
The leadership of the ANC and the entire Alliance,
Representatives of Business,
Recipients of Awards,
Invited Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Thank you very much for inviting me to speak this evening at a very important gathering of one of the unions that for decades has led from the front, not only for worker rights but for the total liberation of our country.
I am humbled that I speak at a meeting where awards will be bestowed on comrades whose work and actions contributed so much to the advancement both of the workers as well as to the struggle that enabled us to attain freedom.
Sixty-six years ago, the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) was born and was, indeed, destined to become an historic activist in our protracted struggle for the liberation and transformation of our country.
Born in the context of a society governed by a racist minority regime, it is hardly surprising that there would have been those who thought that this organisation of the workers would not survive the harsh realities of apartheid South Africa and that FAWU would crumble under the weight of the campaign of repression conducted by the apartheid regime.
But here we are today, celebrating 66 years of its existence - FAWU did not die and shall not die!
Instead, FAWU has grown in leaps and bounds not merely in terms of the membership but with regard to the maturity of the members with regard to the major issues that confront all of us as South Africans.
That this sister organisation is today the biggest trade union in the food industry is a matter of great pride to those who share a progressive vision for our country because we believe that he many and varied challenges facing workers in this sector, as is the case in other areas, need the kind of leadership and membership that has characterised FAWU for the past six decades.
As we meet here today, we are aware that the dehumanising working conditions that have historically characterised the food industry have not yet completely disappeared. Changing these conditions and, indeed, transforming the sector in a thoroughgoing way remains an historic mission that FAWU must carry out and complete. For this reason, we say: long live FAWU, long live!
Indeed, the founding heroes and heroines of FAWU had their revolutionary eyes fixed on the ideal of a society that reflects the direct opposite of what colonialism and apartheid stood for: a non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa.
That is why leaders such as Oscar Mpetha, Ray Alexander and others were also leaders of our national liberation movement. Indeed, even in the face of repression and imprisonment, these leaders never turned their backs on the struggle of our people.
Further, the leadership and membership of FAWU have always displayed high levels of discipline and commitment to the ideals of the national liberation movement. Accordingly, when the ANC sought leaders that could advance the cause of the revolution, it had no choice but to cast its eyes, among others, in the direction of FAWU.
Indeed, given its revolutionary outlook, it was natural and predictable that FAWU would find natural revolutionary partners in the African National Congress, the South African Communist Party and the progressive unions that gave birth to the Congress of South African Trade Unions.
Comrades:
You will recall that FAWU was among the first democratic structures whose leadership reflected the non-racialism and non-sexism that the Freedom Charter called for. Thus, FAWU served to set a practical example that the Freedom Charter was not just a statement of hollow principles, but a guiding star on the basis of which our structures could demonstrate the kind of society we stand for.
This historic organisation of our broad movement, FAWU, has demonstrated the organic and inextricable link between
our liberation from national oppression and the emancipation of women, while also keeping its eyes focused on our non-racial imperative.
Importantly, FAWU did this at a time when our society was highly polarised on the basis of race, and in a period when the leadership of many organisations in society was almost an exclusive preserve of men.
FAWU's gallantry and determination defied apartheid. It refused to abandon its non-racial character even when the regime issued a decree to that effect. FAWU's leadership remained as non-racial as it had been and continued to project itself as a militant organisation fighting for workers' rights.
Indeed, we have traversed a long road from those dark days of colonialism and apartheid. We are now 13 years into a democratic South Africa. In this period we have made unprecedented gains to advance and protect workers' rights.
Although we still have many challenges ahead of us, including unemployment and poverty, we should acknowledge the victories scored by workers in the democratic dispensation.
Since 1994, our Parliament has passed important pieces of legislation aimed at ensuring better working conditions for our people - notably, the Labour Relations Act, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, and the Health and Safety legislation. I am, however, aware of the implementation challenges that exist on the ground and, indeed, Government continues and must continue to work on them.
Unlike under colonialism and apartheid, trade unions today no longer operate under a dark cloud of racial laws. They organise, mobilise and advocate for the rights of their members under an enabling and progressive labour regime.
Our Government has widened the space for union organisation and it is encouraging to see that FAWU is taking advantage of the new conditions and continues to expand its membership base. Contrary to what pertained in the past, the trade union movement today has a say before decisions affecting their membership are taken.
Comrades,
These achievements should not be seen outside the continuum of the historical struggles and events in which FAWU took an active part. The gains we have made are a manifestation of the vision espoused and advocated by the founders and leaders of FAWU.
Among others, the pioneers include Ray Alexander, Oscar Mpetha, Liz Abrahams and Elizabeth Mafikeng.
It is, therefore, befitting that the current leadership of FAWU decided to honour these and other comrades who continue to make a contribution to the struggle for the reconstruction and development of our society in keeping with the tradition established by the FAWU's trailblazers.
On behalf of the ANC and in my own name, I am privileged to extend warm congratulations to the recipients of the FAWU Awards that bear the names of two giants of our struggle, Ray Alexander and Oscar Mpeta.
Confident that FAWU will always march along the tracks laid down by its pioneers, I wish this organisation of combatants for liberation 66 more fighting years.
Thank you.