New socialists in South Africa?
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Of course we all wonder just what they will mean by socialist but i think it is gratifying to see the ANC and the South African Communist Party being rejected.
"The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, which calls itself “the biggest union in the history of the African continent,” with 338,000 members, announced Friday after a special congress that it would seek to start a socialist party aimed at protecting the interests of the working class."
Putting it all into a world context , another sign of the global working class now re-appraising their circumstances and situations and seeking out alternative solutions, no matter how flawed some of those may be at the moment.
Interesting development but I'm not think we're keen on a trade union officially supporting one particular party. Mind you, supporting an opposition party would not be so bad as supporting the government party, as most South African unions havebeen doing until today (including this one, I think).The "socialism" is likely to be that of the South African Communist Party and the ANC earlier, i.e. some sort of state capitalism. And it could be a launching pad for the political career of some trade union leader. Don't forget that leading South African black capitalist Cyril Ramaphosa was once the leader of the miners' union there.
“not keen on a trade union officially supporting one particular party.”Certainly not at the moment but surely as socialism approaches closer they will indeed reflect the political views of its members and support a socialist party. And nearer and nearer the proximity of socialism , the more blurred the demarcation lines become between political and economical, as the unions and party begin the process of preparing the re-structuring and administration of the world’s industry. Our current concern is ensuring that neither union nor party is controlled and directed by the other. i agree that it will moreorless be about nationalisation but my point was to relate it to what is going on all over the globe in various degrees and expressed sometimes positively and other times negatively – a re-appraisal and re-alignment of the working class. I may be wrong in my judgement but it does appear to be a new phase that begun a few years ago and is exhibiting itself more and more in small and large ways. Through these changes and the flux of political ideas developing, perhaps real socialism will be on the agenda in the not so distant future. i can only hope. Cyril Ramaphosa was the leader of the rival miners union the NUM which still supports the ANC/SACP alliance. Our African blog points out that the new approach of the NUMSA is to now to discard the gentleman’s agreement on not poaching members from one another and actively seek NUM members. Maybe the creation of a OBU? I have to do a lot more homework on the subject. It is not ideal but the anarchists have http://zabalaza.net/
alanjjohnstone wrote:the new approach of the NUMSA is to now to discard the gentleman's agreement on not poaching members from one another and actively seek NUM members.Actually this was one of the more disturbing parts of the news report as it opens the way to mineworkers in South Africa being divided along political lines and organised into rival politically-motivated unions, as in most of Europe. The founding manifesto of the World Socialist Party (India) in 1995 made this point about this sort of situation:
Quote:In countries like India workers have the legal right to form trade unions. But there, too, unlike Europe and America, most of the big trade unions have been organised from above as fund-raising, vote-catching political subsidiaries of self-seeking "leaders" than as spontaneous, grass-root, independent and autonomous organisations of the working class to defend their economic interests. Moreover in the absence of factory-wide free election of trade union functionaries, there are as many unions as there are political parties, most of them operating with their hired gangsters and peculiar flags having very little regard to class-unity. Actually these trade unions are not genuine trade unions. Still workers' organised resistance against exploitation is a must; and for that matter, their resistance struggles must have to be freed from the infamy of remaining divided and subservient to various capitalist political parties. This they can achieve by organising themselves in fully integrated and independent trade unions of their own, by throwing away all kinds of blind faith and submissiveness regarding the wretched hierarchy of subscription-squeezer and flag-hoister "leaders". The working class movement is a movement of equals — organised by the workers and in the interest of the workers. No "leader", supposedly having some unknown "god"-given or "intrinsic" trick-finding qualities given is necessary to lead the working-class movement. For a "trick" cannot throw profit overboard. Simply because private property lives to levy its tribute on labour. All workers are equal; all members of the animal species Homo Sapiens, are essentially equals; all human brains are intrinsically the most adaptable and uniquely creative brains, except the few mentally-disabled ones. All workers are able, rather abler than the "leaders", to understand their own class-interests only if they are fully informed of their circumstances from local to global. And to be informed of what is happening around, and what has happened earlier, what they require is to meet in regular general assemblies, discuss and debate all that matters keeping ears and minds open and decide to take such steps as deemed useful. In case a strike is to be declared, they would need a strike committee to be formed of recallable delegates elected and mandated in the general assembl — thus retaining the ultimate control in their own hands. Where there are many rival trade union shops in a single factory or workplace operated by many capitalist political parties, a socialist worker can neither keep on supporting the one he is in, nor go on seeking membership of one after another or all at the same time, nor can he open his own "socialist" trade union instead. What he can, and should, do as an immediate perspective, is to try to form a "political group" with like-minded fellow workers and campaign for a class-wide democratic unity as stated above. Whenever an opportunity arrives the group must use the assemblies as a forum for political propaganda to expose the uselessness of "leaders" and show that the trade union movement is unable to solve the problems of crises, insecurity, poverty, unemployment, hunger and wars.I don't know whether the trade union situation is South Africa is more like that in Britain or more like that in India. My guess would be that it's more like that in India, but I could be wrong. Perhaps someone else knows.
I am only too painfully aware of the Indian unions being divided between the CPI(ML) and Congress parties. There too i have seen unions acquiescing to government when there ruling party is the same. However, the stark reality of the class struggle often overcomes such problems as they do here in the UK when Labour affiliated unions strike against the Labour government wishes. The two main rival factions in India often have conducted joint strikes. I hazard to guess that SA resembles the UK more than the Indian situation since the NUM and NUMSA are divided on industry originally, not politics. although the NUMSA appears aspires to be more of industrial union and amalgamation type rather than one purely concerned with mining since metal-working comprises car workers too.If you are an hourly paid worker or a member of the salaried staff, regardless of your colour, creed or political affiliation as long as you work in the:engineering sector – if you manufacture steel, or if you manufacture things made from steel like car components, aluminium cans, bolts, nuts etc.motor sector – if you work in a garage as a mechanic or petrol attendant, or if you sell cars, or parts for motor cars and if you make car parts,auto/tyre sector – if you assemble cars, make tyres, electronics sector – if you assemble tvs, telephones and make the cables for telephones and computers then you can join Numsa.It does inded support government intervention in the economy as policy. ""Numsa’s long term vision is of a united South Africa where the minority will no longer exploit and oppress the majority. For many, this is the socialism that we are still striving for. An organised and united working class must make sure we achieve this goal."" While it is a worthy aim, we seen too often similar mission statements of our own unions mean little more than state-ownership. Another union, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union is already a breakaway union from the NUM which sees itself as "apolitical and noncommunist" which of course is a political position!.Justice Malala, writing recently in The Guardian, "The NUM has lost all credibility and is bleeding members…" while the pro-business press are trying to prop up its popularity. Business Day newspaper said "The NUM is the thoughtful, considered heart of the union movement here… It appreciates and values private capital and strong companies."The NUM offered in September 2013 to lower its wage increase demands to gold companies, after the gold strike by its own members started to have a negative effect on the producing companies. Striking was proving to be the success it is used for, causing the capitalist the pain of less profits!! Perhaps the NUM can be more described as a company union in some regards!But did the Party not also support Polish Solidarity as a trade union when it broke with the official state puppet trade union movement and set itself up as a rival workers organisation. Although it didn't , the situation could well have easy panned out in the same situation as you fear. unions divided along political grounds. Could this not be just as a valid comparison? Are NUMSA not simply cutting the puppet strings? NUMSA are still threatening to possibly withdraw from COSATU – their TUC – so there maybe a deeper rupture in union unity in the future. It is indeed a weakness of the World Socialiist Movement that we do not possess members around the world on the ground to keep us up to date on all the nuances of local political and economic affairs. No fault of the WSM and easy enough to solve…once membership grows to permit it !!!
More on this here:http://links.org.au/node/3642This decision strikes me as being OK from a trade union point of view:
Quote:Decisions Therefore the congress decided the following:NUMSA as an organisation will neither endorse nor support the ANC or any other political party in 2014. Although endorsing no political party, the union however recognises the constitutional right of its members to vote. Officials and shop stewards who feel the need to campaign for the ANC or any political organisation will have to do this in their own time and using their own resources. Any individual member is entitled in their own time to be active in any political party including getting elected to leadership positions. However, no NUMSA Office Bearer is allowed to hold any office bearer position in any political party. NUMSA will cease to pay into the COSATU/SACP political levy.In fact it's what the unions here should decide in relation to the Labour Party !
It is something similar to the so called Arabian socialism
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