NEHAWU Gauteng Special Extended PEC Statement
Monday October 18, 2021
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in Gauteng convened its Special Extended Provincial Executive Committee [SPEC] meeting on the 13th – 14th October 2021 in Johannesburg. The SPEC was convened to conclude the work of the 11th Gauteng Provincial Congress.
The SPEC considered the resolutions of the 11th Gauteng Provincial Congress focussing on the international class balance of forces, national political situation, socio-economic situation and organisational priorities.
International Context
The SPEC resolved to intensify international solidarity activism and awareness amongst members of the union and society at large. The meeting denounced the imperialist US aggression against Venezuela, Cuba and the Latin America Region. The meeting condemned the Western Imperialist economic trade-wars directed at China and Russian. These trade wars are centred on plunging the developing economies into deep economic crisis.
The meeting resolved to strengthen international work on campaigns for a Free Palestine against Apartheid Israel, work tirelessly to support the working class struggle of the people of Swaziland and Western Sahara for freedom and emancipation. In this regard, the meeting condemned the African Union Commission’s decision to accept Israel as an observer in the AU and further reject the acceptance of Morocco as a member state of the AU.
The SPEC agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the wide divide between the working class and the dominant class (bourgeoisie) throughout the world. The SPEC made a clarion call to all progressive forces to fight against vaccine imperialism.
National Political Situation
The SPEC resolved to forge unity of all progressive forces within the Alliance with the full appreciation of the imperative for the two working class formations - COSATU and the SACP - to understand the importance of having a coherent program to assert its hegemony within the ANC and society for the attainment of socialism.
The SPEC re-affirmed its unwavering commitment to socialism and its attainment, and urged the SACP to celebrate its 100 Years Centenary by moving forward in building a broad popular left front for the working class. NEHAWU in the province will engage the SACP on the rebuilding of the sub-committee on labour and trade unions in order to deepen the programme of the Party within the trade unions.
The meeting analysed the state of the NDR and came to a conclusion that the NDR is in a state of stagnation and reiterated deep concern that the ANC is currently deeply divided and organisationally paralysed and thus risking the derailment of the revolution. This is taking place at the time when the balance of class forces are decisively in favour of monopoly capital and the reactionary political forces. These forces are increasingly making inroads on the ANC’s mass base and political power.
The SPEC agreed that the Alliance remains strategically relevant and welcomed the efforts led by the SACP for the reconfiguration of the Alliance. Having learnt over the years in the implementation of the COSATU 2015 Plan, ultimately the reconfiguration of the Alliance is a function of, and is determined by the balance of class forces on the ground.
Corruption and state capture are indeed part of a counter-revolutionary tide gaining ground in the movement, in particular the ANC. The Special Extended PEC resolved to actively support the initiative of building the broadest possible popular front to defend, advance and deepen our democracy and national sovereignty, to fight state capture, corruption, rent-seeking and all forms of manipulation of our national wealth and public resources by sections of individuals and elitist groupings.
NEHAWU in the province will play a greater role in COSATU, ANC and SACP programmes and build alliance relations in order to advance workers issues and working class agenda.
Socio-Economic situation
The SPEC welcomed the finalisation of the National Health Insurance [NHI] Bill by parliament and as such calls for the full implementation of the National Health Insurance, as a truly universal health care system for all people with the state as the driver and implementer, with its key focus being primary preventative health care. The NHI will guarantee that all South Africans have access to free, comprehensive and quality healthcare in the country’s health facilities.
The meeting deliberated on the crisis of ESKOM which has a direct impact to the economic growth. Whilst we understand that fundamentally unbundling does not necessarily mean privatization but a very critical component of restructuring in the workplace. Without any doubt including selling of the non-core assets will result in massive job losses and retrenchments in Eskom. The unbundling of Eskom is the broader deliberate strategy by government that will leave the company vulnerable to private capital.
NEHAWU in the province calls on Department of Higher Education and Training [DHET] to fully implement for the post the migration of TVET Colleges settlement agreement without fail. The union wants to warn College Principals that the union will act decisively to protect our members and further calls on the Minister of DHET to intervene as we have an agreement that protects our members from any victimization.
The SPEC reaffirmed its unwavering support for free and qualitative tertiary education which is centred on the demands of the Freedom Charter in relation to education. The unions calls on the government to develop a permanent funding model to address and provide for this free accessible and inclusive education. As NEHAWU in the province, we will continue to fight shoulder to shoulder with our dependable ally SASCO and the PYA for a free decommodified education.
The SPEC resolved to strengthen the campaign for a living wage and the broadening of the social security system to cover more vulnerable sections of our society against extreme poverty and deprivation.
The meeting further resolved to fight against any form of gender based violence and urged all male comrades to commit to this undertaking as the starting point of dealing with the social ill of gender based violence. This is a societal problem that the union will fight from the shop floor and through to communities where its members reside.
Organisational Priorities
The SPEC resolved to continue to strengthen workplace organisation and requires a strong union in the overall to perform this task. As such, the union in the province will continue with the programme of renewal and this will be coupled with rolling-out dedicated activities to strengthen workplace organisation, rebuild branches, consolidate and improve our work to achieve a strong workplace organisation in the overall.
The meeting resolved to intensify work on recruitment of new members to the union, and this therefore means that the union in the province must accelerate its recruitment campaign, improve service to retain members and broaden its recruitment strategy. The meeting further resolved to improve the quality of our bargaining and paralegal structures by rolling training for all our shopstewards and coordinators.
END
Issued by NEHAWU Gauteng Secretariat
For more information, please contact: Mzikayise Tshontshi (Gauteng Provincial Secretary) at 0636851938
email: mzikayise@nehawu.org.za
Thulisile Msimang (Gauteng Provincial Deputy Secretary) at 0721748062
email: tmsimang@dtps.gov.za