Dear Judy

Dear Numsa officials at Port Shepstone localOn behalf of the staff and members of Numsa at Umzinto Garage I would like to thank Numsa for the great job that they did in assisting us when we lost two of our members due to illness.

The families of both members were unable to perform the funeral because of a lack of finance. I contacted Numsa for help and they did not disappoint me. They contacted Doves Funeral Service and everything was arranged and went according to plan.

Both families were elated that Numsa had done everything for them. They asked me to extend their heartfelt gratitude to Numsa.Due to Numsa's dedication and appreciation of its members, we have now recruited eight new members.

We know that Numsa is the rock we can stand on because no matter what problem we have, you are just a phone call away.

Once again I say “Well done!” and thank you to Numsa officials who assisted us in our time of grieving.Vusi Maduna, shop stewardMitchell Pillay, assistant shop steward

Dear JudyNgikhathazekile emoyeni wami ngezinto ezezeka emafemini sisebenza kuwo.Ngingabonga uma ningagqugquzela umnyango wabasebenzi ukhiphe abantu bangene emafemini babheke ezokuphepha kubasebenzi. Baxoxe nabasebenzi baveze ukuthi abaphethe kanjani amaNdiya.Abantu basebenza njengegqila bayathethishwa, batathukwa, bathengishwa amathuluzi athathwa amaNdiya baweba besekuthiwa wena okadi ulisebenzisa likhokhe.Kunabantu ababanjelwa izimali ezinkulu ibe angalazi lelothuluzi ukuthi ubani olebile ave ibuhlu ngulento ukukhokha ukhokhele into ongayazi ibe itshotshwe amaNdiya.Uma kungaba nabantu abanga ngena emafemini abasuka kuhulumeni ingaphela yonke lento.Ikakhulukazi ePhoenix kwela maNdiya. Bese uhulumeni akhiphe abantu abazobheka ukuthi amafem ahambisa ngakho yini ayawulandela yini umthetho. Ayadlala ngabantu amaNdiya.Sengiphetha ngiyacela hlalani phansi nohulumeni nixoxe indaba yalaba abathatha amasub-contractor/agent ababe nawo amalungelo abasebenzi bama agent/sub-contractor akho livi kulento. Ayinyuki imali yakhona udla umile ubanjelwa iUIF kuphela akho bhonasi kulento kuyadlalwa ngabantu lapha emnyango. Uma uyeka uhamba naleyomali yesonto kuphele kanjalo.Ngicela nihlangane niyizinyunyana niniluxoxe loludaba niphume nesixazululo nilungise amafem asePhoenix. Ngiyabonga.Zondamaqili Ntethe Mhlongo

Dear comrade MhlongoWe asked Numsa's regional organiser in KZN, Thulani Ngubane, to answer your letter. This is what he says:Sekukaningi umfoka Njomane ebhalela iphepha lakho ekhalaza ngobandlululo athi lwenziwa abaqashi kubasebenzi abamnyama endaweni eyakhele izakhamuzi zase Ningizimu ne Afrika, iningi lazo okungmaNdiya, endaweni yase Phoenix eNyakatho neTheku.Imizamo yokukhuluma umlomo nomlomo noNjomane ikhutshwazwa ukuthi uqabane akathandanga ukusinikeza inombolo yakhe yocingo kunye nekheli lalapho esebenza khona kanye nalapho ehlala khona. Kumina lokho kusengobunye ubufakazi bokuthi wesabisekile futhi uhlukumezekile kakhulu umfokaMhlongo. 1. Izikhalo zika Njomane zimbandakanya ukulahleka kwamathuluzi emsebenzini bese kusolakala abasebenzi abamnyama bese bebanjelwa imali kuthiwa abakhokhele ithuluzi elilahlekile (unfair deductions).2. Uphinde akhalaze ngokusetshenziswa kwabasebenzi beqashwe umqashi mbumbulu (Labour Broker) nokusetshenziswa ngokubu nkonteleka okungenamkhawulo (indefinite contract labour system) usebenza ungenawo amalungelo abasebenzi.

Iseluleko sami kuNjomane esokuthi njalo umangabe kunezingxoxo embonini yensimbi noma yezimoto, ungqogqoshe wezemisebenzi uyaye ashicilele izivumelwano azenze zibe umthetho ophoqa ngisho nama Labour Broker imbala. Awukho umthetho ovumela umqashi abambe imali yabasebenzi ngaphandle kwaleyo ebhalwe ezivumelwaneni nase mthethweni njenganeUIF, Provident fund, bargaining council levy. Kule sikhalazo sokusebenza inkonteleka engumlibe, uNjomane akakhululekile. uHulumeni wase Namibia useshicilele umthetho okuqedayo ukusetshenziswa kwabasebenzi bethunyelwa umqashi mbumbulu. Kwi nkongolo yeNumsa ungqongqoshe wezabasebenzi wethembisa ubuholi be Numsa ukuthi uzowaqeda ama Labour Brokers.Kolodaba eluthinta amaNdiya ngithi ehlisa umoya mfoka Mhlongo. Wathola umsebenzi lapho kwakumele iNkosi yawo khona. Mina ngazi izimboni eziningi lapho abasebenzi bamaNdiya, abebala, nabaNsundu sebambisene kahle kakhulu emzabalazweni wabasebenzi. Ngiyazazi futhi izimboni lapho abasebenzi behlukunyezwa ama supervisor, nama Human Resource officers abamnyama. Uma kukhona ohlukumeza abasebenzi thintana ne office lakho lase Thekwini ku (031) 301 0136 noma uthinte nomgqugquzeli wesifunda uThulani Ngubane ku 083 297 8740.

Dear JudyI thank Numsa for the session where they trained newly elected shop stewards from 10-12 June 2008. It opened many minds of new shop stewards. I say halala Motebang Ralake, halala! That man (regional educator) is a real lecturer!I'm appealing to you comrades, Numsa is the only union that could make a better life for workers in South Africa.

But please, comrades should intervene in shop stewards serving their third term. Numsa members should form an audit committee and travel to all Numsa organised companies to check if Numsa shop stewards are working according to the Numsa constitution.

Those 'auditors' should put a list of questions to shop stewards to investigate the movement of the union and to allow workers to participate. You'll be shocked! The third term senior shop stewards are putting the union in their pockets to feed themselves! These people are known to Numsa senior members, SACP and Cosatu.

You report at the local office, the organisers fear them because these people are serving in the region. They've made strong relationships with employers. They've made their own rules which are fit for them and employers.

But workers suffer a lot. Some of them decided to quit Numsa and go to join Legal Wise. I'm an example. I am banned from talking to workers and workers are not allowed to report grievances to me as a shop steward.

We've been punished on 23 July for the general strike of Cosatu. Many things are wrong here. The employers are very scared 'cos of the new LRA launched in 1995, 1996 and 2002.

That's why I'm still here in the company. Apartheid is still rife in the workplace. Please, build strong auditors to implement Numsa's dignity.Anonymous, Chamdor

Dear anonymousYour idea that Numsa members should form an auditing committee to check if shop stewards are working according to the Numsa constitution is a good one.

It will also be a good idea to share the idea with other shop stewards at your local shop steward council.Your letter also included allegations about a certain shop steward whose name you do not mention.

We have excluded these allegations from Numsa News because:* you do not give us your name so we cannot check the truth of your allegations, nor can the person who you bad-mouth follow up your claims* by publishing your allegations we would be encouraging witch-hunting and for any nameless person to use Numsa News to damage the reputation of an individual if s/he didn't like that particular person.

Instead we urge you to take your allegations to your local and raise your concerns with the local shop steward council so they can resolve your grievances.

In future please give us your contact numbers so we are able to assist in the investigation. We will not publish your name if you don't want us to. Your letter also says that you were punished for going on strike on July 23.

You do not specify the punishment however the strike was protected but unpaid. The employer cannot discipline you for taking part unless you were intimidating or assaulting other fellow employees who were not on strike or you caused damage to his property.

If there was any disciplinary action taken against you, did you report it to your local. If not, why not?You are saying that Numsa is doing a good job in training and educating its shop stewards.

You should have received the shop steward induction manual when you did the training.Read again the tips this manual gives you on the “duties of a shop steward” in your factory, your local, in Cosatu and in your community.

As it says there: “Your job is to build unity amongst the workers, workers who are divided cannot defeat the bosses.”

Your suggestion of encouraging an audit committee to audit shop stewards is a positive one that will build this unity. Use the Numsa structures to build the unity that is so hard to attain.

Source

Numsa News