South African Airways taught me things
We have been taking for granted and I felt compelled to declare that I am embarrassed and ashamed to call myself a proud South African. This was what I felt after a recent trip to Cape Town to visit my uncle.Returning home to Port Elizabeth, I boarded a plane, my first ever plane trip. After one step inside, I got the impression that I was in a European country. The loneliness immediately descended on me. The pilots, air stewards and the passengers were almost all white. It was disorienting to say the least. The more I looked around, the more convinced I was that there is very little that is African about the South African airline. One almost feels like a foreigner in one’s own country. South Africa is a predominantly African nation, an African country on an African continent. One expects flights should reflect that! It is very difficult to embrace change when very little has changed in so many years. There must be a genuine desire to correct the imbalances of the past and to do things in a just and fair manner.While it can be argued that it takes a long time to train pilots, surely the same cannot be said for air stewards? I was less shocked when I discovered that English and Afrikaans are still the dominant languages. I would not have thought that after we fought the apartheid system in South Africa I could still experience these problems. The language issue is the most obvious sign of the lack of consideration for the interests of African people. There is no reason whatsoever why English and Afrikaans should be given preference over African languages whereas the Constitution gives equal status to all the latter.This journey went down in my memory as a beginner of new hatred. This journey of discovery had a two stage process. First, divide into perfect planned hatred and second the survival of the white minority in the so-called new South Africa. However, instead of being rightfully angry about this, it would give me greater pleasure for Africans to know that they are decent people who refuse to be defined by or surrender to those who had the guns and bullets.
Vuyisile Fundakubi
Stalling the transformation agendaIt is some years now that transformation of our economy has been on the agenda of every progressive democratic movement.The oppressed masses were not left behind on these central issues. They have contributed constructive ideas on how transformation should benefit the working class and the role they must play in shaping the economy that will benefit the poor in society. Numsa structures have debated the role that the state must play in restructuring or transforming the sectors of the economy which will then benefit the industrial proletariat. Post-1994 the multi party talks began where parties agreed to develop an interim constitution adopted on May 8 1996 that gave guidelines on how society must play an active role in the economy.The Employment Equity Act (EEA) 55 of 1998 and its regulations give effect to the provisions of the constitution. They set out what measures companies should implement to address or remove the barriers that have prohibited disadvantaged groups from playing an active role in shaping the economy.The same Act regulates the role of labour inspectors and registered trade unions in workplaces of designated employers.In 2008 Numsa at local level realised that some of the companies had decided to ignore the requirements of the Act.A standard letter was developed and sent to all companies requesting disclosure of information of the following:* EEA plans* Reports* annual training report (ATR)* Workplace skills plan (WSP).and requesting them to send all documents to the Department of Labour and Merseta.Some of these companies did not bother to respond.In Numsa-organised companies we requested the Department of Labour (Dol) to conduct inspections to check if the companies complied with the Act’s requirements.In one particular company, a Dol inspector found that the company was not complying and issued an undertaking to comply within three months.Before the period lapsed, the company wrote a letter to the Dol requesting an extension which was granted.Within two weeks the same agent who was issuing the undertaking and compliance order was employed by the company as its Health and Safety Officer.”Things will be worse now,” said workers. “The same agent will advise the company on how to delay the implementation of the transformation agenda. Some of the labour inspectors are using Government institutions to advance their personal interests at the expense of workers on the shop floor. The Department of Labour must critically screen these inspectors before and after their employment.”As Numsa News went to print, we were still waiting for the Department of Labour to give us a progress report.Peter Thobejane
Star-studded Semenya
Breaking news!Outa Rapitse villageFrom rags to richesOn dusty roads, bornA star that brightCaster Semenya
Breaking recordsHer stride mercurial, anInstant overnight sensation,Soarings of a tiger, leapingHer voice husky, like a lionessSails beyond and beyond.
Breaking barriersHer looks, stardom rockedIn disbelief, mankind shockedAs Semenya for genderVerification, sent.Western views, she hasMale characteristics.
Breaking groundsCutting across the fieldsLike rhinos of the wildTo strike gold for ye and IStar-studded Semenya.
Breaking the globeWith universal coloursWaved her a flag to flyHigh and high, in gloryAnd salutes astounded eyesTo stare at star-studded Semenya.
Breaking historyNorth, east, south and westHer image dented, yetUndaunted her spirit cosShe’s a cool feminine genderGod’s grace, Caster Semenya
Aubrey Ka Saki
Mandela day: Sixty seven minutes of goodwill
Phutas Tseki
On July 18 2009 South Africa celebrates one of our own. The continent celebrates the son of the soil. The world celebrates one of the global icons – the former and the first President of South Africa, Comrade Ntate, uTata Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela – an icon of the world.
On this day as the world celebrates the birth of Mandela, We have this to remember! The words and the legacy of our forbearers should guide us!Nkwane Nkruma was calling for peace among Africans,Patrice Lumumba was calling for the resourcesOf the continent to be in the hands of those who worked the land,Kenneth Kaunda was welcoming all the nations in exile,Julius Nyerere was calling for African culture, economy and traditions to be sustained.Nelson Mandela was calling for no compromise for the freedom of African People, The whole Diaspora was singing with one voice, the voice of humanity.
Mothers of the world were saying gender equity is human rights,Martin Luther King was calling for equal citizenship of the world,Today, is not only a South African and Mandela celebration,But it is the world that is recognising the humanity of Africa,That individuals of the globe are oneNo domination of one nation by the other,Can Barrack Obama do any good for the world?
Mzwakhe Mbuli made a call which we are realising today,That Africa will not be free until we in the south are free!The meaning of this celebration should be about Fighting poverty and underdevelopment, Change the accumulation path to be of humanity and socialist!The meaning of Mandela should be about equality in the universe, Restructure super eight (G8) to be super human, Call for a new world order, socialism,Socialism – the highest degree of democracy!
Nelson Mandela, workers love you!The collective wisdom of the world can restructure all,We shall and must restructure the accumulation path of the world!You are an inspiration to all of us to achieve this goal,Let young people live the legacy and protect it until eternity!
The economy should be in the hands the toilers of the earth – workers!!
NDR – we must change the material conditions!My understanding and observation of the current development around the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) is that the voice behind this struggle is quiet. Union shosptewards, Cosatu local leadership and all progressive structures of our movement are quiet on the matter. Local shopstewards councils should not concentrate on petty politics and bread and butter issues only but rather develop programmes that seek to change the current material conditions by debating more on this fundamental issue. I am raising this issue based on the capitalist system that continues to defend itself and plans to sustain policies that are minority oriented. It continues to talk profit instead of poverty; huge retrenchments and many more other things that are confronting our nation. Let’s look at the question of crime. Bheki Cele or no Bheki Cele, crime will not be solved by appointing good commissioners. It must be addressed through eradication of real problems facing our nation, not through social grants. Social grants must be a platform to empower people otherwise we are risking our nation depending on the government. Abram Motloba, shop steward, JCI
Cosatu’s engine is failingIn the past locals were so vibrant. This resulted in Cosatu being the big federation that it is today.Since 1993 there have been grievances about the non-functioning of Cosatu Locals. This non-functioning has resulted in some of the federation’s resolutions not being fully implemented at local level.Cosatu’s September Commission report of 1993 adopted in that Congress said we must transform ourselves in order to transform our society.Now the question which we must ask ourselves is, when preparing for the 10th National Congress, how far have we gone with that?The REC members are undermining local structures – they say the level of understanding is very low. At the same REC level they meet and discuss locals.Due to the current challenges facing the federation and its unions, the congress must debate the possibility of resources at the local level by building offices for Local Office Bearers with well equipped material. The constitution must be amended by putting a penalty on affiliates who fail to send at least ten shop stewards to Cosatu Locals including PEC worker delegates.Peter Thobejane, local organiser, Kempton Park
Paid time-offFor us as shop stewards “paid time off” is one of the big problems we are faced with. Union activities are crucial to attend, especially for newly-elected shop stewards. But we are told by capital that they cannot pay them or give them the paid time off. The Labour Relations Act states clearly that we shall be given “reasonable time off” to attend to union activities but does not say how many days. It is upon us as a structure to engage and to collectively agree upon how many days shall be paid time off. Capitalists must know that as they run their companies, we as shop stewards also help them to resolve conflicts on a daily basis because of what Numsa has taught us. The only training capital will give you is “housekeeping” – to keep their places clean and forget about how much money they make. Leaders, let us fight for what is ours and not go to work when you are supposed to be involved in union matters. Without a fight the bad treatment will not be put to a stop!Lucien Windwaai, shop steward, Bell-Essex Engineering
Let’s take control of the means of production!The struggle for jobs is now a very serious and painful one. The idea I have is for workers to take control of the means of production. How? 1. Unite the workforce that is unemployed and the youth. Use the portion of savings and form co-operatives and take over the factories that are closed. All the land in rural areas should be utilised to produce mass food and people open their own markets and sell the food at cheaper prices. 2. Moratorium on overtime (only 40 hours per week) across all the sectors. 3. Cosatu to revisit the idea of workers colleges and offer all the skills that are needed by the economy including scarce skills. 4. No official should earn more than a skilled artisan. Floyd Mnotoza, shop steward, Johnson Controls
Sex Work Should Be LegalisedPeople become sex workers /prostitutes for different reasons. For some it is simply because poverty forces them to earn money. It may also be because of emotional neediness or a history of sexual abuse.It should be legalised because a lot of tourists are coming to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA world cup and they should be able to have the freedom to explore this kind of business in our country. They should not be forced to go to sex workers in secret. That is why it needs to be legalised. It should be also be regulated by government so they could also earn money from the operation. We can’t deny that prostitution exists and there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop it. It will be a good thing to legalise it because sex workers are being harassed and abused on a daily basis. Even the police who are supposed to protect them are abusing them. They are also being discriminated against and if their business is made legal they won’t be violated in this way and they would be proud of the job they do. Sex workers’ rights should be recognised and protected and not only during the World Cup. They should be protected by government and there should be rules that people need to abide by.Pinky Ramokoka, shop steward, Kallies Panelbeaters