OPINION | Samwu at 39: Our support for the ANC is not a blank cheque

Saturday marked exactly 39 years since the formation of our militant, class orientated and ideological union – the South African Municipal Workers Union – in Cape Town.

Samwu was born out of protracted unity talks and the merger of five unions, each with different dispositions and traditions. This process resulted in a unique and vibrant leadership collective that embodied a non-racial outlook aligned with the beliefs of the banned Congress Alliance.

We owe our existence to the words of Cosatu’s founding president, Elijah Barayi, who spoke during the federation’s first May Day celebration after its launch, when he said: “We urge all worker leaders… and all patriots in South Africa to work together, plan and coordinate our actions to win our freedom and break the chains of poverty and cheap labour which bind the majority of people in South Africa today.”

Our resolve was further amplified by President Oliver Tambo, in his address to the people of South Africa from exile on 2 May 1987, when he opined: “Let us strengthen Cosatu and act in unity in all regions and localities and at national level to ensure that it grows in width and depth. Let all factories, mines, farms and other enterprises become the bases of the democratic trade union movement.”

Our formation was not a coincidence of history, but formed as a weapon for the rights of workers to be organised, to bargain for better wages and improved conditions of employment, and to have a right to strike.

It was during the height of the apartheid state’s repression and its self-manufactured state of emergency that we made ourselves invincible and known. Hence, the enemy response was to use repressive organs of class rule to undermine radical activism of the mid-80s, mostly directed towards unions and its leaders, against the backdrop of growing popular dissent from below, pushing for a new transition.

Delegates who had converged at the once pedestal of colonialism and an enclave of white supremacy – Cape Town – formed the largest municipal trade union, which is embedded in a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, and worker-controlled orientation and outlook.

They did not waver, but remained steadfast and resolute in building a key workers’ organisation as a moral authority for the exploited and marginalised section of the working class

Those leading minds behind the union formation were courageous and brave representatives drawn from racially segregated municipalities and Bantustan-divided localities at the time. They were singularly committed to a noble cause – the unity of workers – amid concerted efforts by the apartheid machinery to domesticate the organs of people’s power.

We salute that gallant generation of workers whose sweat and blood made the formation possible. Leading this gigantic union, with its rich history, and continuing to hoist the red flag under difficult conditions inherited from our past, before the negotiated political settlement and democratic breakthrough of 1994, is not only a badge of honour but also a privilege to serve.

The union was not spared the effects of apartheid-sponsored black-on-black violence that gripped our country in the 1990s. We lost scores of shop stewards, worker leaders and members in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal as a result.

But our union did not sit back. We became part of the solution through self-defence units, street committees and mobilised protests to expose the underhand tactics of the previous regime. We won the fight to end political violence. We are proud of our contribution.

A special salute goes to all workers who perished in the line of duty. Their names are etched in our hearts and memories and will remain there for many years to come.

For 39 years we have remained true to the rallying cry of workers, “an injury to one is an injury to all”.

In the early 2000s, our red union took to the streets to fight iGoli, which was a reactionary plan meant to commodify essential services, outsource key work functions and privatise the strategic assets of the City of Johannesburg.

We fought shoulder-to-shoulder with other like-minded organisations. The ANC-led city had to backtrack and shelve the plan as a result of our collective voice and power. These are gains of our past actions and decisions.

Again, we swamped the streets during the Mandela presidency to reject the GEAR (Growth, Employment and Redistribution) policy. It was imposed amid an unemployment bloodbath, ailing public services and rising poverty in the country. The imposition of GEAR signalled a shift towards a neoliberal economic policy framework trajectory that favoured the interests of the ruling oligarchy and white monopoly capital.

It mirrored a government and its leadership already captured by capital outside of a shared and agreed policy framework – the Reconstruction and Development Programme – which was formulated by the Alliance. The battle nearly collapsed the Alliance. But the will and power of workers prevailed.

Thus, the ANC opened itself to failure, as evidenced by deepening poverty, gender income inequalities and an escalating cost of living. We have since earned the undisputed status of being the most unequal country on Earth.

We took to the streets once more to reject labour brokering and e-tolls. The union embarked on these actions irrespective of the colours and a logo of a party in power.

Last year, we scored a massive victory at the Constitutional Court where we successfully challenged the constitutionality of Section 71B of the Municipal Systems Amendment Act that limited municipal employees’ constitutional rights to participate in political activities.

In recent times, we have seen a sporadic rise in acts of vigilantism – laced as anti-migration protests – fuelled by dubious organisations and personalities. These groupings and personalities are similar to those used by iNkatha to derail our democratic breakthrough.

Through the mobilisation of hostel dwellers, they have unleashed havoc. The systematic crisis of capitalism and apartheid fault lines have fuelled anger within our communities due to joblessness and a lack of opportunities.

Our own movement, the ANC, is unable to provide leadership owing to its own organisational challenges and leadership lacuna.

The trade union movement, especially Samwu, has a revolutionary responsibility to provide leadership and defend our members who have become victims of these protests when delivering much-needed services to communities.

We must unapologetically provide leadership. We are not shielding any government or leadership. A mass-based campaign should be taken up to educate our communities.

On this solemn but celebratory occasion of our 39 years of existence, we affirm our union’s mandate, guided by the resolutions of our successive congresses, for our broad membership to overwhelmingly vote for the ANC on 4 November.

But our support for the ANC is not a blank cheque.

For many years, militant trade unionists and activists have built the ANC. They did so fully aware that the ANC is the correct vehicle to deliver on the popular aspirations of our people as envisaged in the Freedom Charter.

We expect the ANC and its leadership collective to detach from failed neoliberal policy choices as prescribed by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and rating agencies, to advance policies that are in line with the Freedom Charter.

Workers are losing their patience. They demand change and change starts now.

As we celebrate our revolutionary milestone in the service of workers, we remain committed to advancing our members’ interests. We will never abandon our members at the altar of parliamentary perks or political deployments in pursuit of self-serving interests or upward class mobility.

We remain firmly on the side of the working class, committed to its consciousness and struggle as a class for itself.

Nkhetheni Muthavhi is the president of South African Municipal Workers Union.

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