Africa, Economy & Trade, Headlines, Human Rights, Labour

Q&A: Labour "Has to Weigh Up the Trade-offs" in Acting to Protect Workers

Interview with Steven Friedman

CAPE TOWN, Apr 30 2008 (IPS) - Co-operation between the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and forerunners of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) goes back several decades to the early days of efforts to end racial discrimination in South Africa.

The three groups currently operate in what is termed the "Tripartite Alliance", established in the early 1990s. The support of COSATU and the SACP helped bring the ANC to power during South Africa&#39s first democratic elections in 1994, and assisted the party to increase its majority in subsequent polls.

But the three organisations do not always agree on key issues facing South Africa.

Tensions within the alliance started becoming more visible after Nelson Mandela was succeeded as president by Thabo Mbeki. At the ANC&#39s national conference in December last year, COSATU and the SACP threw their weight behind Jacob Zuma in the contest for the presidency of the ANC; this was instrumental in Zuma&#39s victory over Mbeki.

Ahead of May Day (May 1), when labour issues around the world will come under scrutiny, IPS reporter Stephanie Nieuwoudt spoke to political analyst Steven Friedman about the current state of relations between COSATU and the ANC. Friedman is a research associate at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, a think tank with offices in the capital, Pretoria, and Cape Town.

IPS: What caused the strain in the relationship between the ANC on the one hand and COSATU and the SACP on the other?

Steven Friedman (SF): Some analysts argue that it came about after 1994. The strain is not so much about policy differences, but how the differences were handled and the way COSATU felt it was treated. COSATU knows that it is only one element of the alliance, and it was willing to compromise. But the ANC was not always willing to meet it halfway. For example: COSATU initiated the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP, a plan to address the effects of apartheid), adopted by the government in 1994; but this policy was for the main part ignored when the &#39Growth, Employment and Redistribution&#39 macro-economic strategy (GEAR) was introduced in 1996.

There is a misconception about the ANC in certain quarters. It seems as if some people think that the ANC ditched left wing notions in favour of capitalism. The ANC was never a leftist socialist movement. It is a nationalist movement.

IPS: The RDP and GEAR were adopted and implemented during the Mandela presidency, and yet it seems as if the focus of resentment within COSATU is directed against Mbeki. Why is this?

SF: Mr Mandela&#39s role was that of peacemaker, while Mr Mbeki kept the government running as his deputy. Mr Mandela was seen as more inclusive and he was willing to enter into discussions with the unions. When he took over as president, Mr Mbeki was perceived by the unions as somebody who wanted to exclude them from the processes of change. The unions were told that they would be consulted in the privatisation processes, but there were attempts to exclude them.

IPS: Did relations between COSATU and the government improve after the ANC&#39s national conference in December when Zuma was elected president of the ANC and his supporters were voted onto the organisation&#39s executive committee?

SF: Relations did improve – at least for the moment. The alliance partners, COSATU and the SACP, backed Zuma. They now feel that the ANC leadership consists of people they have confidence in. But this has not been tested yet. It is already clear that the new leadership is not a socialist leadership. It may still come under pressure from the SACP and COSATU to implement changes. It remains to be seen what the leadership does in future. We cannot assume that the improved relations will last, without conflict between the government and the alliance partners of the ANC.

IPS: To what degree does the support for Zuma have to do with him as a personality?

SF: It has a lot to do with him as a personality. He is committed to consensus, and this is why he is often in discussions with whites and other interest groups. He does not seem to treat those he speaks with as inferior to him. He also says what people want to hear.

A few weeks ago he told a meeting that South Africa needs a more flexible labour market. This statement angered COSATU, which felt that a more flexible labour market would mean less protection for workers. Zuma immediately met with COSATU and said that he would not continue with the idea. It was reported that COSATU was running the show. But…I do not believe it was an advance for COSATU when Zuma said there would be no change. Politicians say and do things like this all the time.

IPS: Are COSATU and the ANC likely to part ways?

SF: I do not think their ways will part – at least not in the near future. The only way there will be a split is if the ANC insisted that its partners could not differ with policy decisions. It is highly unlikely that this will happen.

IPS: There is a slew of economic problems facing the country. The mines have threatened to retrench employees because of the power crisis in the country, and food prices have sky rocketed. COSATU is acting to address these problems – but to what effect?

SF: In a democracy the people have a right to mobilise on issues of public concern. The chief weapon is a strike, but COSATU has to weigh up the trade-offs which are always part of a mobilisation action. There is a limit to how often and how long a strike can last.

COSATU has said that it will mobilise if members in the mining industry are retrenched. COSATU and the new ANC leadership are still in a honeymoon phase, and if a strike does take place in the near future, it will be seen as an action not against the ANC but as one against the employers.