Triggers for Numsa’s ‘Marikana’ moments
Long-outstanding issues that the union has failed to resolve are often the triggers that can make members lose trust in the union. “They don’t see any benefits in belonging to the union”, says Nhlapo, and then it is just a small step for that frustration to turn into anger against the union.
Another catalyst is when the employer takes an action that divides the workforce, such as the examples at Toyota detailed on this page.
But the dark cloud hanging over all these incidents is the extreme inequality, poverty and unemployment that workers experience on a daily basis.
“You just have to look at the areas where workers live,” says Nhlapo. “In Rustenburg the miners are staying in a vast area but it is rare to see a brick house.
You see zozos, mkhukhus, poor services, the streets are not tarred. Workers feel that companies just don’t care.”
Even for those with jobs, the pressure to act as an ATM for the extended family who don’t have jobs is huge. This is due to the country’s unemployment crisis, especially among Africans, and the deeply inadequate social security system.
This is why Numsa and Cosatu at their respective congresses this year have said that the key focus now is to embark on a programme of action for the basic wealth of the country to be restored to the people as a whole and not to be manipulated by individuals, whether white or black.