24 May 2007
'Deepening a culture of organising, quality service and accountability'
It is, as always, a great pleasure and honour to be invited to address the Central Committee of the National Union of Mineworkers.
We welcome the opportunity to attend these important NUM meetings because of the quality of debate and the valuable insights that these deliberations produce.
We certainly expect that during the course of these discussions, this CC meeting will effectively address the theme of 'deepening a culture of organising, quality service and accountability'.
This theme, and the challenges it poses for the union leadership, signals a clear appreciation of the tasks, responsibilities and main objectives of any progressive trade union.
We trust that the deliberations over the next two days will be productive and will lay the basis for the continued growth of the union, the strengthening of the federation as a whole, and the advancement of our common struggle for the fundamental transformation of our society for the benefit of all, particularly the workers.
In reflecting on the tasks of the union in deepening a culture of organising, quality service and accountability, we should perhaps begin by considering the environment in which the NUM and other unions are having to organise workers to advance their interests.
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
This meeting is taking place in an era characterised by great uncertainty, in which the people of South Africa, the continent and the world are faced both by grave threats and unprecedented opportunities.
Whether we emerge from this period better or worse off will be determined in large measure by the actions of those forces that associate themselves with the progressive ideals that have long been the mainstay of our revolutionary movement.
In understanding the challenges and opportunities that exist, we need to understand the impact that the rapidly changing nature of global capitalism is having on productive forces, production relations and the organisation of the working class.
In one of the policy discussion documents prepared for the ANC's 52nd National Conference in December, entitled 'Challenges and Opportunities Facing Workers and Unions', it is noted that:
"Globalisation is a phase of capitalist development where economic processes are able to function very powerfully across national political economies. This means that the actual means of production and the organisation of work are now very dynamic with changes occurring in a few short years. The power of markets has grown and the power of national bourgeoisie and indeed of national working classes is subordinated to global processes of accumulation. This circumscribes the power of nation states and weakens and fragments the historic basis for political power within a state."
This diminishes the capacity of the nation state to forge an economic and social programme in isolation from these global forces. It also diminishes the capacity of the social and class forces that underpin state power to direct the national agenda.
For a country like South Africa, in which the masses have only recently seized state power, this is a challenging reality. We have achieved our 'independence' from colonial rule - understood in the form of colonial of a special type - only to discover that global economic change is serving to erode our new-found independence.
The nature of work, the range of work and the location of the workplace have changed very substantially. This has particularly implications for workers, for the cohesion of the working class, and for the manner in which workers are organised and mobilised.
As the NUM, it would be important to understand what impact these changes are having, and will have, on the mining sector. As one of the 'old economy' sectors, mining experiences globalisation in its own unique way.
It is not possible, for example, to move a gold mining operation offshore. By contrast, a car assembly operation can easily be moved to another region or country, where production costs may be vastly lower.
But if you can't easily move gold-bearing rock around the world, the capital to finance the extraction of that gold can be moved around the globe instantaneously, as can the profits from its sale.
While the mining industry is not affected as much as other sectors by advances in communications and information technology, its position in the economy is changing relative to other faster-growing sectors.
Like other unions, the NUM will need continually analyse these shifts, understand what it means for its workers, and its own modes of organisation.
This new phase of capitalist development underscores the importance of strengthening the developmental role of the state, and the importance of a strong political force capable of supporting that state in the face of a range of countervailing global pressures.
To quote the discussion document again:
"There remains only one politically effective mobilising strategy and that is to continue the Alliance as we know it. Residing in the policies and more important the history of the Alliance we find the only basis for mobilising a multi-class political force capable of designing and effecting a strong state that can harness the positives in globalisation and develop defences against its dangers.
The work of this Alliance is to consolidate and develop the national democratic revolution within an increasingly complex global world. A united political movement with its roots firmly in mass participation and involvement is the only basis for the decisive, determined and yet patient transformation of our society and economy into a prosperous, stable and tolerant democracy."
UNITY OF THE REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT
If we are to confront these challenges and seize the opportunities that exist we will need to mobilise the national and global progressive movement to act with determination and in unity. We will need to work together to identify those courses of action that are most likely to bring about the kind of society and kind of world that meets the pressing needs of the poor and marginalised.
In undertaking these tasks we find ourselves in South Africa at an advantage.
Over the course of many decades of struggle, we have forged a broad and powerful democratic movement rooted among the masses of the people, and guided by principles and values that have remained firm in the face of the most perilous of conditions.
It is on the basis of these principles and values, and with the active involvement of the people of South Africa, that we are proceeding to build a new society - a society that belongs to all who live in it.
It is therefore a matter of critical importance - if we are to advance the struggle for a new South Africa and if we are to contribute to a better Africa and world - that we maintain, deepen and strengthen this broad democratic movement that has served our nation over all these decades.
In order to do this, we need to have at the core of this movement a strong, united and cohesive Alliance, bringing together the national liberation movement, the vanguard party of the working class, and the progressive trade union movement.
No less so than at any other point in our history, South Africa today needs the Alliance to lead the struggle for a new and fundamentally better society.
The strength of the Alliance must derive from the collective and individual strengths of its component parts. The Alliance cannot be strong if one of its component parts is weak. This places a responsibility on all Alliance partners to work to strengthen each other and reinforce each other's capacity to engage meaningfully in pursuit of our common objectives.
It is therefore a matter of great importance to all members of the Alliance that the ANC is united, cohesive and effective. It is similarly critically important that COSATU and all its affiliates continue to grow, to better service members, and to play a leading role in organising and mobilising the workers of the country.
Deepening a culture of organising, quality service and accountability within the NUM is therefore a task that needs to be supported and strengthened by all components of the Alliance, understanding the importance of well-organised workers capable of mobilising to advance their interests in the workplace and in society.
The Alliance partners need to be able to work together in united action. It is not simply enough that the Alliance partners agree on central matters of theory, analysis and policy. Whatever grounds there are for agreement need to be forged in a common programme of action.
And it is not sufficient for the Alliance partners to seek a façade of unity based solely upon the desire that the Alliance appears to the world as a united organism.
The unity of the Alliance must emerge from ongoing processes of frank and intensive engagement on the major issues confronting the movement, society and humanity. This needs to be an engagement founded on mutual respect and honesty, characterised by the free interchange of ideas, and bound together by a shared respect for each partners' independence, legitimacy and integrity.
It must be acknowledged that, at least in some of the public exchanges we have witnessed in recent times, key elements of this approach to engagement among Alliance partners seem to be lacking.
This highlights the necessity of ongoing direct engagement among all components of the Alliance, which continues to be conducted in a spirit of comradeship and frankness. We should not allow the development of a situation where exchanges through the media - whether intended or not - become a substitute for real, robust debate within and among the Alliance partners.
Nor should we allow different views on any matter to be projected or to be understood as a signal of division within the Alliance. We must expect that Alliance partners may hold different positions, and may agree to differ on some issues. That does not mean the Alliance is divided.
Yet whatever different perspectives we may hold, we have a responsibility to continually engage each other on these perspectives in pursuit of common positions that can form the basis for united action.
We need to strive also for the unity of the broader democratic movement, reaching out to different sectors of society in an effort to build a broad front of organisations, institutions and individuals who share our vision of a better society, a better Africa and a better world.
ORGANISE FOR WORKERS' POWER
As we work to strengthen the democratic movement to advance the struggle for national liberation, we need to remain seized with the fundamental tasks of the trade union to organise, mobilise and represent workers.
The NUM has a proud history of organising and mobilising workers in one of the most exploitative sectors of the South African economy, under some of the harshest conditions, against some of the country's most powerful and resourceful employers.
The position that the NUM now occupies as the voice of mineworkers is the result of many years of organising work.
The trust that the NUM enjoys among the mineworkers of South Africa is because of its clear determination to place its members at the core of its activities, to provide them with the best services possible, and to always act together and in concert with them.
The NUM has been able to sustain strike action and achieve important victories against employers because it has remained close to its membership, and always directly accountable to them for the actions and decisions of the union leadership.
It has understood that a union is as strong as the resolve of its members.
Building on this firm foundation, this CC has rightly set itself the task of determining how to deepen the culture of organising that has permeated the history of the union.
It has rightly identified the task of organising as one that does not diminish in importance as an organisation develops and grows. Rather it is a task that must necessarily grow in importance if the union.
It is also a task that may, over time, require new approaches and greater creativity. But it will always be the first and most important part of a union's strength.
It is closely connected, of course, to the union's ability to be responsive to the needs and interests of members. Certainly, services need to be accessible and of quality. But they also need to be relevant to the conditions and challenges faced by workers.
Strong unions are, fundamentally, those that are thoroughly democratic at all levels. By remaining accountable to the membership at all times, by refusing to compromise on processes of consultation, mandate and recall, and by ensuring that the will of the membership is paramount, the union becomes a force that cannot be broken.
There are certainly many difficulties and challenges facing our people. There are many challenges facing the democratic movement, the progressive trade union movement, and the labour movement in general.
There are specific challenges facing mineworkers, the mining sector and the NUM.
Yet, we have every confidence that this meeting of the NUM Central Committee will confront these challenges with the determination, clarity of vision and unity of purpose that has served to shape and define the union over many years.
We wish you well in your deliberations.
Thank you.