{"id":1032,"date":"2019-12-10T11:44:21","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T09:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marxistworkersparty.org.za\/?page_id=1032"},"modified":"2020-04-23T11:45:11","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T09:45:11","slug":"trade-union-unity","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marxistworkersparty.net\/?page_id=1032","title":{"rendered":"Trade Union Unity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Originally appeared in Inqaba Ya Basebenzi No. 12\n(November 1983-February 1984)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editorial Board statement which was circulated in\nSouth Africa on 20 February 1984. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the trade union unity talks last October<\/a>, long-standing differences of attitude towards the formation of a new federation came sharply to the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The occasion for\nthe open-rift was not accidental \u2013 the discussion had moved from the stage of\nverbal generalities to the stage of practical commitment. Unions were expected\nto supply precise information about their organised strength, to enable\ndetailed negotiations to take place, leading to the creation of one union in\neach industry, within one united federation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Saawu, Gawu\nand Macwusa\/Gwusa representatives proved unwilling or unable to provide the\nnecessary details, the representatives of Fosatu, Cusa, FCWU, CCAWUSA, GWU and\nCTMWA decided to continue the discussions themselves \u2013 if necessary without the\nparticipation of the first-mentioned unions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In place of the\nprevious ‘feasibility committee’, a ‘co-ordinating committee’ was formed comprising\ndelegates from each union willing to submit detailed information, to discuss\nproblems of demarcation and other issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequently,\nthe next round of unity talks scheduled for 13 November did not take place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the high\nhopes for unity raised by earlier progress, the apparently sudden setback in\nOctober, followed by the postponement in November, led to an atmosphere of disappointment\namong most workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports in the\nSA bourgeois press cultivated this mood \u2013 and it was not effectively counteracted\nby union leaders. On the whole, union members have not been kept fully informed\nabout the precise difficulties in the way of unity \u2013 nor have they been\ninvolved adequately in the discussion of how these difficulties can be\novercome. As a result, even union activists began expressing a general\npessimism about the prospects for uniting the unions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the\nreports from workers which have reached the Inqaba<\/em>\nEditorial Board in the past three months have reflected this pessimism.\nHowever, on studying detailed notes made during successive phases of the unity\ntalks, it is clear that a high level of agreement on principle and on practical\nissues has been reached between the representatives of Cusa and Fosatu \u2013 the\ntwo industrial federations \u2013 as well as FCWU, GWU, CCAWUSA and CTMWA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sound basis\nstill exists for the formation of a new federation which would include at least\nthe major sections of workers organised in industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the next\nround of unity talks scheduled for 3 March, Inqaba<\/em>\nsupporters in the various unions are asked to discuss with their fellow workers\nthe points outlined below, and let the Editorial Board have their comments, as\nwell as reports on the developing situation, as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1)<\/strong> The rebuilding of the\ntrade union movement by African workers over the past ten years has begun to\nraise the confidence and understanding of black workers generally that the\nworking class has the power to win struggles against the class enemy, and the potential in due course to take on\nand defeat the bosses and the state<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2)<\/strong> Workers seek the unity\nof the trade union movement in order to extend and build this power, and to\ntest it in action. Progress towards trade union unity is a vital element in the\nmorale and readiness to struggle of the entire working class \u2013 of the organised\nand unorganised workers, as well as the youth, the women at home, and the\npeople working on the land. In turn, it affects the middle layers of society,\nwho can be won to the side of the working class when the workers’ movement\ndemonstrates its power and vitality in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3)<\/strong> The divisions in the\nindependent, democratic trade union movement have arisen from the different\nbeginnings of organisation in different areas over the past decade \u2013 but these\ndifferences have been hardened and deepened in the recent period, not by any\nfundamental differences among the rank-and-file, but by rival ambitions,\nideological standpoints which are not clearly worked out, and conservative\nnarrowness of outlook on the part of some union leaders seeking merely to\nsafeguard their own positions in the face of the tidal movement of the working\nclass which is now arising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(4)<\/strong> In standing for the\nunity of the trade unions in one national federation, we must urge upon all\nunion leaders the utmost flexibility and readiness to compromise on secondary\norganisational issues, while standing firm on the need for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n