Will the recent National Aids Conference hosted by Cosatu, SACC, Sangoco and TAC which government attended, signal an end to the fighting between civil society and government around how to tackle the HIV/Aids disaster? Everyone is hoping so.
Things began to turnaround at the Cosatu congress in September. Even those delegates who sang Zuma songs when deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka entered the congress, could not have failed to hear her message: “HIV causes Aids; you cannot separate nutrition from treatment; we will work together to overcome this national pandemic.” Just a month later at the National Aids Conference, government’s message was repeated, this time by deputy minister of health, Nosizwe Madlala-Routledge. She said that government would work together with civil society organisations to end the toll of 800 deaths daily, illness and new infection. Promises were also made to speed up and improve the roll-out programme of anti-retrovirals, to cover many more people and to make the health institutions more efficient. Commenting on the poor relationship between Aids support organisations, TAC and Napwa, she offered government’s assistance as mediator to bring the two together.Government has until World Aids Day on December 1 to develop a new 5-year National Strategic plan on HIV and Aids. The plan is expected to include programmes and targets. The civil society conference said that it believed that one million lives could be saved in 2007 if HIV prevention and treatment are effectively implemented.Once the plan is developed it will be up to organisations like Numsa to see how we can adopt the plan in our own Union and support it.Meanwhile the theme for World Aids Day 2006 is accountability. The slogan worldwide is STOP AIDS: Keep the promise. Make sure you remember December 1 in your workplaces, offices, homes.
Translation
Ithemba elivuselelwe nge-HIV/AidsWonke umuntu uyathemba ukuthi lokhu uhulumeni akushilo eNgqungqutheleni yeCosatu ngoSepthemba kanye naseNgqungqutheleni Ye-Aids Kazwelonke ngo-Okthoba kukhombisa ukufisa okusha kokubhekana nenhlekelele ye-HIV/Aids.Kuzo zombili lezi zingqungquthela uhulumeni wayekusho kucace ukuthi i-HIV ibanga i-Aids nokuthi ukudla okondla umzimba ungeze wakwehlukanisa nokwelashwa. Uhulumeni manje kufanele adwebe uhlelo olunesu leminyaka emi-5 lokubhekana ne-HIV/Aids kusenesikhathi ngaphambi koSuku Lwengculazi mhla ka-1 Disemba. Uma lolu hlelo selwenziwe, sekuyoba sezinhlanganweni ezifana neNumsa ukubona ukuthi zilwamukela kanjani eNyunyanini yazo bese ziyalweseka.
Hernieude hoop oor MIV/VigsAlmal hoop dat wat die regering in September by Cosatu se Kongres in September en weer by die Nasionale Vigskonferensie in Oktober gesíª het, bewys is van “˜n nuwe bereidwilligheid om die MIV/Vigsramp aan te pak.Die regering het dit by albei konferensies duidelik gestel dat jy nie voeding van behandeling kan skei nie. Die regering moet nou voor Vigsdag op 1 Desember “˜n 5-jaar strategiese plan saamstel om MIV/Vigs te hanteer. Sodra dit ontwikkel is, moet organisasies soos Numsa besluit hoe ons hierdie plan in ons eie Vakbond kan aanneem en dit kan ondersteun
Tshepo e ntjhafetseng mabapi le HIV/AidsBohle re na le tshepo ya hore seo mmuso o se boletseng Khonkreseng ya Cosatu ka kgwedi ya Loetse le Khonferenseng ya Naha ya Aids ka kgwedi ya Mphalane se bontsha maikemisetso a matjha a ho lwantshana le koduwa ya HIV/Aids.Dikhonferenseng tsena ka bobedi mmuso o ne o tseba ka ho hlaka hore HIV e baka Aids le hore o ke ke wa arohanya phepo e ntle le kalafo. Mmuso jwale o lokela ho rala morero wa dilemo tse 5 o yang ka leano wa ho lwantshana le HIV/Aids nako e sa le teng bakeng sa Letsatsi la Aids ka la 1 Tshitwe. Hang ho ba morero ona o hlahiswe ho tla tswa ho mekgatlo e jwalo ka Numsa ho bona ka moo re ka amohelang le ho tshehetsa morero ona a teng Yunioneng ya rona.
BriefsCompany wants workers to suffer for its own failure to act!Government has just passed new regulations to crack down on dangerous paraffin stoves that each year destroy about 50 000 shacks causing hundreds of deaths and injuries. From January 1 2007 new government regulations mean that it will be illegal for Botshabelo stove manufacturer Tao Ying to sell its stoves. And because of that, Tao Ying is telling its 320-strong workforce, most of whom are Numsa members, that it wants to lay them off for eight weeks and possibly longer.Discussions around making stoves safe have been going on for the past two years. Why must the workers suffer for management’s failure to act sooner?
Cosatu welcomes Skweyiya’s support for BIGCosatu has applauded social development minister, Zola Sweyiya, for his public support for the basic income grant (BIG).Cosatu has long been arguing that only if every person living in South Africa received a BIG could the country start to reverse the extreme poverty. Current social grants exclude a large portion of the poorest of the poor. Research has shown that even a R100 per month BIG would reduce the poverty gap by 80%.