Du Plessis: New political era dawning – ANC’s future Opposition is a Labour Party

To understand the present, read history. Trade union Solidarity’s General Secretary Gideon du Plessis helps us to cut through the noise and confusion in this excellent blog where he traces the roots of the current labour chaos and reaches logical conclusions. Including how unionised workers are tiring of their leaders’ motives, and seeing their political ambitions unmasked as opponents of the ruling ANC. Fascinating. – AH    

By Gideon du Plessis*

Until recently, Cosatu was the “labour party” within the tripartite alliance. Since the ANC’s 2007 Polokwane Conference, Cosatu has been insisting on more political say and to the annoyance of especially the ANC and the SACP, it has been opposing government decisions. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that the possible rift in Cosatu will be welcomed in senior ANC circles, as a source close to high-ranking government leaders has recently revealed to me.

Unlike Willie Madisha, former Cosatu president who, in the wake of the turmoil within the confederation, entered politics in 2008 under the banner of Cope, two prominent Cosatu leaders, Zwelinzima Vavi, Cosatu general secretary, and Irvin Jim, Numsa’s general secretary (whose political ties may possibly both be cut), are campaigning for the establishment of a workers’ party. Even Joseph Matunjwa, president of the Association of Mining and Construction Union (Amcu), too recently threatened to establish a political party, should his trade union be deregistered as a result of a compliance investigation into the trade union launched by the Department of Labour.

This thirst for politics is a normal phenomenon among especially Cosatu trade unionists to move from a trade union career to a senior political position. The reason for this phenomenon can be traced back to the banning of the ANC, PAC, SACP and black trade unions during the apartheid years. As a result of the Wiehahn Commission of Inquiry, black trade unions’ rights had been restored in 1979 long before other political movements were unbanned. Consequently since the 1980’s, most of the black trade unions constituted the only legitimate political mouthpiece for black people to promote their political rights.

In order to give black trade unions a stronger collective voice during the apartheid era, the politically neutral Federation of South African Trade Unions (Fosatu) headed by Alec Erwin, who was to become Minister of Trade and Industry in the Mandela administration, was founded in 1979. In 1985, Fosatu made way for the ANC supported Cosatu, whose first general secretary, the fervent Jay Naidoo, was neutralised when he accepted the position of minister without portfolio in 1994. Following the unbanning in 1990 of the political movements forming part of the liberation struggle most of the Cosatu affiliated trade unions retained their political and Black Consciousness character, only adding economic liberation to their ideological framework  as the second phase of the freedom struggle.

As trade unionism was known for its high level, yet robust negotiations, this members’ organisation was the ideal breeding ground for future ANC politicians as was previously mentioned. Since 1990 experienced trade unionist negotiators, like NUM’s first general secretary, Cyril Ramaphosa, had entered the fray as leading political negotiators at Codesa and during the constitutional negotiations. The experience of the former trade union negotiators gave the ANC supremacy in these crucial political negotiations. From 1994 to date the ANC’s ranks have indeed been bolstered by former trade unionists like Kgalema Motlanthe, Gwede Mantashe, Sam Shilowa, Connie September, Sydney Mufamadi, Membathisi Mdladlana, Bheki Cele, Dina Pule, Ismail Vadi, Manne Dipico, Enoch Godongwana, Nathi Mthethwa, Edna Molewa, Sicelo Shiceka, Amos Masondo, Mildred Oliphant, Marius Fransman, Fred Gona, Ebrahim Patel and many others.

Infiltration of the ANC by trade unionists, once a Cosatu resolution, is still continuing nonetheless and Senzeni Zokwana, NUM’s current president and Fikile Majola, Nehawu general secretary are heading for parliament after the general elections in May this year. Zokwana is apparently supposed to bolster the NUM pipeline of political leaders following the retirement of Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, while Sizwe Pamla, Nehawu spokesperson, has indicated that ‘ideologically, it is in Nehawu’s interest to have someone from the trade union in parliament because liberation processes are being frustrated by bureaucrats who are not leftist orientated.

Now where does the desire of current trade unionists to enter politics come from? As a reply, the following pull factors can be listed: since 1979 trade unionism and politics have been inextricably linked; certain power-hungry trade unionists realise that true power vests in political power and that economic power is hard to come by; a senior political appointment is the ideal reward for the sacrifices made during the liberation struggle; key debates on labour legislation amendments chiefly take place in the meetings of parliamentary portfolio committees and not at Nedlac anymore; and finally, it is much easier to make promises you can’t keep as a politician than it is to for a trade unionist to make promises which will catch up with you, as Amcu’s Mr. Matunjwa has discovered.

So-called push factors in favour of a political career can be the perception that the trade unions’ post 1994 heyday is over, and the ANC government and employers, especially mining employers, are nowadays less accommodating about trade unions’ participation in non-labour relations matters; second, trade union members are slowly but surely beginning to offer resistance to being “abused” for the sake of someone else’s agenda; and finally there is a sense among extremist socialist trade unions that the ANC and SACP have left workers in the lurch and have not implemented the expected radical policies agreed upon at Polokwane in 2007 – in defence of the politicians it could be argued that they might be beginning to realise how a modern economy works.

Given the many examples of trade union leaders who simply used trade unionism as a springboard for a political career and neglected their trade union roots, the entry into party politics of a Vavi and an Irvin Jim as hardened socialists, will most likely break down these stereotypes and they will indeed proclaim the interests of the workers’ class from the rooftops of parliament and the presidency. This will herald a new era in which organised labour’s support for the ruling party will change into opposition to the ruling party.

* Gideon du Plessis is the General Secretary of the Solidarity Trade Union.