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Campaigns Bulletin : The government is starving us to death!

Authors: SAMWU
Date: May 2001
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English, Zulu, Swati, Xhosa, sePedi, seSotho and Afrikaans
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113537 , vital:33799
Description: The wage talks are resuming on May 8th 2001. At the time of going to print, all provinces were holding marches all over the country to highlight our demands for a living wage. Currently on the table is a proposal by the conciliator that all parties should agree to accept an 8% across the board increase, and an increase in the minimum wage to R1900. Firstly this proposal has not yet been accepted by the employer. At the conciliation, the employer stuck to 5% only. Secondly this falls short of our demand. It means we will not get the R300 across the board. Any worker earning below R3800 per month is going to get an increase of less than R300. The hardest hit will be workers earning from R1700 - R3000 who will only get R136 - R240. There is nothing more we can get from conciliation or negotiations. It is now up to YOU the workers to decide if you will accept the 8% offer put on the table by the conciliator!
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Date Issued: May 2001

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Campaigns Bulletin : The government is starving us to death!

Authors: SAMWU
Date: May 2001
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English, Zulu, Swati, Xhosa, sePedi, seSotho and Afrikaans
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113438 , vital:33775
Description: The wage talks are resuming on May 8th 2001. At the time of going to print, all provinces were holding marches all over the country to highlight our demands for a living wage. Currently on the table is a proposal by the conciliator that all parties should agree to accept an 8% across the board increase, and an increase in the minimum wage to R1900. Firstly this proposal has not yet been accepted by the employer. At the conciliation, the employer stuck to 5% only. Secondly this falls short of our demand. It means we will not get the R300 across the board. Any worker earning below R3800 per month is going to get an increase of less than R300. The hardest hit will be workers earning from R1700 - R3000 who will only get R136 - R240. There is nothing more we can get from conciliation or negotiations. It is now up to YOU the workers to decide if you will accept the 8% offer put on the table by the conciliator!
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Date Issued: May 2001

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Labour Law amendments

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Feb 2001
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/111107 , vital:33380
Description: Our National Executive Committee met on 20/21 February and, amongst others, deliberated on the latest developments around the proposed labour law amendments. After consideration of the document circulated at the recent COSATU CEC and the subsequent CEC resolution on the matter, our NEC resolved as follows: SAMWU expresses its concern at the manner in which negotiations on the amendments were conducted and more specifically the lack of a more thoroughgoing consultative process involving workers. Already it would appear, as cautioned previously, that the Millenium Labour Council has usurped NEDLAC as the site of engagement on matters of this nature with the latter simply assuming a rubber- stamping role. Of major concern to the Union is the proposed joint vision that serves as a preamble to the agreement concluded between the negotiators in the Millenium Labour Council. In the view of SAMWU, the vision constitutes the first formal embrace by COSATU, notwithstanding the Federation’s vision of socialism, of neo-liberal globalisation viz. economic growth for redistribution. The COSATU view has always been the opposite - growth through redistribution. SAMWU cannot support any agreement with business that acknowledges their right to a ‘competitive’ profit and secure investments. Profits derive directly from the exploitation of workers. If any agreement between business, labour and government on the proposed amendments has to contain a preamble, then SAMWU is of the view that it should simply recognise that notwithstanding fundamental differences on an appropriate macro-economic strategy for the country, the parties have been able to reach agreement on various amendments to labour legislation.
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Date Issued: Feb 2001

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Workers News - Fight for your lives against privatisation

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Jan 2001
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English, Zulu, Sotho and Afrikaans
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113601 , vital:33806
Description: Welcome, comrades to the New Year! In the last issue of Workers' News, I raised the point that all of us in elected positions were renewing our mandate. Now all of us, as members of SAMWU have a new mandate from Congress. We emerge out of Congress a united face which is geared to take workers struggle forward. Provinces came to Congress with different positions - through a process of open debates we managed to reach consensus on most of the discussions. This shows political maturity and cohesion. I want to look at the most critical challenges we have to face in the next three years. The credentials presented at Congress showed that we have not increased our lost membership in the past three years. We must start an organising campaign to meet the target we have set for ourselves. We need to have a programme of empowering women. We have concentrated much resources on a few leaders who are empowered already. For me that is not enough if we want to build a strong women's layer in the union. We have received reports of workers who died while performing their council duties. The challenge facing us is this: what programmes are we putting in place to make sure that we reduce deaths on duty, especially in the electricity and sewerworks departments. We also need to look at health and safety committees because our role in these issues has been very poor in nearly all local authorities.
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Date Issued: Jan 2001

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Campaigns Bulletin : Wage negotiations 2000

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Apr 2000
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English, Zulu, seSotho and Afrikaans
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113558 , vital:33801
Description: It is sad how the promises of a better life for all made by the government means so little for workers. Cosatu and Samwu mobilised our forces to ensure a victory for the ANC in the national and local government elections. Despite the fact that workers have put MPs into parliament and councillors into local government councils, we have yet to see any real benefit for workers. The 3rd and final round of negotiations delivered a big disappointment for Samwu. Once again we went into negotiations with high hopes of persuading Saiga to implement decent wage increases. Samwu’s position of R250 or 10% for workers earning less than R6 700 per month was very reasonable. Because we said that those earning more than R13 700 should get a 7% increase, this meant that the total cost to councils was only 9%, which is very affordable. Saiga moved its position in negotiations by 1%. They also tried to get us to give up our demand for a R250 increase by offering a minimum wage of R1600. As we know, most workers are earning more than that. Workers earning R1600 Saiga's 5% will mean a R80 increase. This is less than councillor's get for attending one meeting! Although the negotiators tried everything to try to reach a settlement, Saiga frustrated us at every turn.
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Date Issued: Apr 2000

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Workers News - Millennium of struggle kicks off

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Feb 2000
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English, Zulu, seSotho and Afrikaans
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113589 , vital:33804
Description: Wages have kicked off! SAMWU submitted a demand to the employer, which is a minimum wage of R1600 and a sliding scale increase of 15% for those earning R1600 per month down to 8% for those earning R20 000. We are waiting on the employer to table their response. We need to talk about the 6% capping on municipal expenditure. The cap has meant that municipalities cannot offer wage increases above the 6% limit. If there is any cap on this year's budget to be announced in February, the union will challenge this very strongly. In Joburg the union is fighting the iGoli 2002 plan tooth and nail! This plan will sell most of the city's assests. Services will be run by private companies who are not accountable to the citizens of Johannesburg. SAMWU tried very hard to negotiate with the council. The union even went to mediation. But late in December, mediation collapsed. The Council was not prepared to listen to any proposals to transform the city, or to raise the money to extend services. The dispute has gone to NEDLAC, but is unlikely to be resolved here. iGoli 2002 affects workers across the country. It is being copied in Pretoria and Cape Town. All comrades must think about what course of action to take to defend our services and our jobs. Good news in this regard is that a few weeks ago, COSATU came out strongly in support of SAMWU in this case. Please read the article on page 17 and intensify the discussion about restructuring and privatisation in COSATU locals. SAMWU comrades must take responsibility for making sure that all COSATU members are prepared to fight for decent services that are affordable for all. The Framework Agreement was accepted at the Bargaining Council as a Bargaining Council Agreement. Shopstewards must demand this agreement from the offices. We need to be aware of restructuring issues especially now that employers are undermining these agreements.
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Date Issued: Feb 2000

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SAMWU's Anti-Privatisation campaign 1997-1999

Authors: SAMWU
Date: 1999
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/111213 , vital:33414
Description: Last week, SAMWU held lunchtime demonstrations around the country to protest against the privatisation of municipal services. The demonstrations were well attended with reports from the regions indicating that thousands of workers turned out. SAMWU has received an overwhelming show of solidarity from the international community. The General Secretary of UNISON, Britain’s largest public sector union with over 1 million members, wrote that “The UK experience of water privatisation has been huge windfall profits for the companies, record dividends for their shareholders, and massive pay rises for those at the top of these companies. At the same time, employees have suffered job losses, while consumers have had massive price rises. Drought restrictions are widespread and almost one third of all water leaks from old pipes.” The Community and Public Sector Union is Australia wrote that “the Victorian government has pursued similar policies since its election in 1992, and this has resulted in the loss of over 30 000 jobs. Despite the massive effort at privatisation, the state remains the highest taxed state in the nation!” The President of the Public Services Association in Trinidad and Tobago wrote “Our own experience is that Severn Trent of the UK has been granted a loan facility by our government to cover all operational losses for the three year period, thereby taking no risks and collecting management fees of millions of dollars. Water is the most essential commodity for humans and it should never be handed over to the private sector profiteers.” The Executive Committee of Algemene Onderwijsbond, Netherlands wrote: “the evil of privatisation of public holdings is a worldwide problem.. .be convinced of our solidarity and support with your struggle.” SINTAP, the Portuguese Union representing public administration personnel wrote: “We hope the Ministry of Constitutional Development will be able to accept your pilot projects for public sector alternatives to privatisation of water and waste services.” The International Secretary of the 1.3 million member AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) wrote: “given its central importance to sustaining life, water must remain in public hands. We applaud your actions to ensure working conditions for those employed in these critical public services and your leadership in educating the community of the danges associated with privatisation.” The President of the Lithuanian Trade Union Federation of Public Services faxed SAMWU’s President a message saying that “in Lithuania, the capital city of Vilnius has been fighting French multinational Lyonnaise Des Eaux for four years. They want to buy our city’s water system for 5 million US dollars and get 30% of the shares, which is valued at 660 000 US dollars. Its profit the company will get from our citizens pockets.”
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Date Issued: 1999

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Workers News - Cape Town report backs

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Jun 1999
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English, Zulu, Sotho and Afrikaans
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113313 , vital:33744
Description: I want to look at the most critical challenges we have to face as SAMWU in the coming period. Firstly, the wage campaign continues to serve as a unifying tool to all those who have to sell their labour in order to earn a living. This makes it possible for us to continue to champion the cause of millions of working people and more specifically thousands of municipal workers who still receive starvation wages. It must be seen as an appropriate springboard for the advancement of the broader objectives for social upliftment, the fight against poverty, homelessness and the realisation of our socialist goals. We have made victories such as agreement on minimum entry level. We hope the central issue of the huge wage differentials will now be addressed. A linked issue is that we must finalise Minimum Service Level agreements on essential services with all local authorities. The absence of these agreements impacts on our ability to exercise the right to strike. The need for us as leaders and members to ensure proper report backs are done and mandates given remains an area of work we need to strengthen. Secondly, the process of local government democratisation has to be pursued vigorously. As a union we face the most challenging period yet with various initiatives currently unfolding in many local authorities, such as the Igoli 2002 proposals for Greater Johannesburg, which are occupying centre stage. The framework agreement between Cosatu and Saiga is an important document that all leadership must understand. We must however take note that although the framework agreement does not specifically talk about waging anti-privatisation campaign, it does lay basis for engagement in furtherance of our public sector delivery option. We can therefore argue that it is anti privatisation in character. Although we have had setbacks at Nelspruit and Dolphin Coast, the fight is not yet over as we continue to pursue matter at the sectoral forum. There are important lessons we have to learn from these setbacks. The first is importance of building strong shopfloor structures. The second is that of maximising the collective strength of our members, organised labour and communities faced by effects of privatisation. The signing of the agreement does not mean a need to shift the emphasis in our campaign. We must strengthen our campaign and promote the public sector delivery option. Thirdly, the main challenge right now is ensuring a decisive ANC victory. The union has made resources available for the strengthening of the Alliance elections machinery through contribution to the fund controlled by the Federation; and seconding officials to work on elections fulltime. This will not be enough unless we all support programmes aimed at getting workers to vote for the ANC. These elections must not be viewed in isolation from our overall objectives of building a strong Samwu, Cosatu, SACP and ANC. The integration of election work in our daily programmes in this period leading to June 02 is very important. We must also prepare for post election challenges. The Cosatu Special Congress and programme to build the federation; the consolidation of Alliance's transformation agenda; the fight against job losses and retrenchments; HlV/Aids, defending the peoples manifesto etc. In SAMWU, the organisational strategic planning session in July is the platform we hope to utilise in strengthening internal organisation. A series of workshops will be convened before this national session. These would include Local Government Restructuring, Financial Administration etc. It will not look at campaigns or broad policy, but at how the organisation can be developed and how our structures are working. The main focus will be on how we strengthen our organisation and make it a better tool to implement policy. The above represents some of the important issues the union has to deal with. We must above all ensure that all union work serves to strengthen our organisation, build the federation and Alliance structures and raise working class consciousness around issues faced by us and the workers of the world.
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Date Issued: Jun 1999

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Workers News - National Women's committe launched

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Mar 1999
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English, Zulu, Sotho and Afrikaans
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113369 , vital:33753
Description: My regards to all SAMWU comrades and wishing all a Happy New Year! I hope this message will encourage women in all structures of SAMWU. President Mashishi, in the previous issue, wrote about the "Framework for Municipal Service Partnerships." Inside you will find a guideline as to how you can use this agreement in your municipality to stop privatisation. Comrades, let us take up the challenge of implementing the framework agreement with the vigour, attention, and dedication it deserves. The Sectoral Forum team will continue to stop any negative consequences from this agreement and make sure privatisation is only a last resort. Comrades must help the team by reporting any attempt to privatise to the Head Office immediately so that disputes can be lodged quickly. Comrade Women, we are entering the new millennium with a new National Women's Committee. This structure has been formed through womens' demands to our Union. There is no leader besides yourself and no one can walk in front of a woman, a mother and a child bearer. We know all the pains, the joys and the inner abilities we have as leaders. We lead on a daily basis, in our homes, with our children, and in our conversations. Never think that you are not a leader! Women should show their wisdom like our mothers have shown. South African women are considered very strong. We should not shy away from our responsibilities as leaders. Let's voice our opinions and always support one another. Shopsteward training is very important this year. The Education Department has developed excellent programmes and I hope everyone will get the best benefit from them. Shopstewards should keep themselves up to date of SAMWU policies and documents. These can all be found at your nearest branch office. No-one can defend a union member better than yourself with the knowledge of SAMWU Policies and Defence methods. Know your Union! Read and share with other comrades what you have learnt! We have heard Deputy President Mbeki announcing Zero Tolerance for corruption. Cdes, this is an issue we should never leave lying low. We should report all irregular matters that occur in our workplace and within SAMWU. We should not tolerate comrades that are in the struggle for enrichment rather than political advancement of the workers they serve. Members should be served with no extra gains to officials or shopstewards. Human Rights Day is coming and we must remember comrades whose suffering we've heard about in our TRC hearings and those in the rest of the world. Suppression of Women's Rights in other countries should be high on our "NO" lists. Comrades, many Bills have been passed in 1998 and some of those affect us as workers in local government. There will be education programs around the Employment Equity Act, and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. Contact your branch office for more details. In the next issue we look at the Skills Development Bill. A political education programme starts at the end of March. It will be one evening per month in urban areas and one day every two months in the rural areas. Comrades, especially women, I urge you to participate. The first program will be about the Elections Manifesto. We want to see all of you on lists at the next election. Comrades, finally, thanks to those of you who have been helping with voter education and registration. Let us go out and move other comrades to register and vote for our Party. We cannot be ruled by confused people anymore.
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Date Issued: Mar 1999

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Workers News - SAMWU Women Lead

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Sep 1999
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English, Zulu, Sotho and Afrikaans
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113325 , vital:33747
Description: Heyta comrades, heyta! I greet you all as we move towards the end of another year in the history of SAMWU. There have been many important developments since the last edition of Workers' News. The union held a strategic planning workshop in July. This workshop came up with organisations systems to meet challenges facing SAMWU. Please ask for a copy of the proposals at your branch office. The final Central Executive Committee meeting for the year will meet from 6th-8th October. You should ask for a copy of the Secretariat Report from your branch, and get reportbacks from your office bearers after the meeting. This CEC will be finalising many of the recommendations made by the union this year. SAMWU needs your input! There has been a change in the Secretariat.Cde Roger Ronnie, General Secretary of SAMWU since 1995, has been redeployed to the Legal Unit following his resignation and the departure of the Legal Officer. Cde Mncedisi Nontsele, Deputy General Secretary will act as General Secretary until the CEC and the Provincial Secretary of the North West, Cde Tom Ngobeni will act as Deputy General Secretary. The CEC will finalise where the three comrades can be placed so that they are of maximum use to the organisation. The CEC will develop a programme of action leading up to SAMWU’s 6th National Congress next year. This includes looking at resolutions that will be adopted at the first women's conference in September, which will guide SAMWU on how to combat probems facing women. We need to develop a clear programme to fight upaid labour by women. We also need to address problems women are facing because of the globalisation of the world economy. Labour standards have dropped, collective bargaining rights have been removed and women are more open to exploitation with even female children working on short contracts. SAMWU will continue to provide childcare at meetings so that women comrades can participate fully in union activities. This is vital if we are to seriously build women leaders in preparation for next year's general electionof shopstewards, and the Congress where at least 30% of elected comrades MUST be women. The Quota System does not mean that women cdes are elected as tokens or just to concentrate on womens issues - women leaders must play a central political role in the union at all times. We face the challenge of building our organisation. But we cannot enter into benefits schemes to attract members if the same schemes such as loans will only mean that members pay such high interest that they get further into debt. For this reason, sAMWU is investigating a way to nationalise the current savings scheme so that it becomes a foundation for members to get free of loan sharks. All members can join the retirement fund that gives you the best benefits for your contributions. I am pleased to announce that the worker- controlled SAMWU National Provident Fund is now the fastest growing pension scheme in the country! Well done, cdes! SAMWU is not an island. We also face challenges as part of COSATU. Please read about the COSATU Congress on page 17. Comrades may have read about the recent wage dispute inthe public sector. The government's implementation of a wage increase not agreed upon is an attack on collective bargaining rights. We need to close ranks with comrades in NEHAWU, SADTU, POPCRU. The employer in Joburg has already followed the government's bad example by implementing privatisation plans while still pretending to be negotiating. This is an overall attack on all public sector workers! As SAMWU members, we need to take seriously the resolutions on job losses. Our sector has been lucky so far - as part of the public sector we enjoy the largest number of employed workers in the country. But we could face job losses in the future - already when workers retire or get dismissed they are not replaced. The Job Creation Fund and the October Recruitment Campaign are key COSATU campaigns. Cdes, we must deposit our one day's salary into the Job Creation Fund if we have not already done so. This will assist our comrades who have lost their jobs. SAMWU has set aside resources for all branches to participate in the recruitment campaign - unionised workers are less likely to lose their jobs! If the union participates fully in all these activities, we will be in a good position to assess whether SAMWU has implemented the 3 year programme and also lay the foundation for a productive and revolutionary Congress in the year 2000!
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Date Issued: Sep 1999

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Campaigns Bulletin : Anti-Privatisation Campaign Special Issue

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Mar 1998
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113407 , vital:33768
Description: The SAMWU anti-privatisation campaign goes right to the heart of all members in their role as service providers to the community. Any privatisation of municipal services would mean that people in community not have access to basic services. It would also mean a loss of jobs through retrenchment and restructuring. This has already happened in other parts of the world. Internationally, public sector unions are fighting privatisation. For all these reasons, SAMWU calls on all members to intensify the anti-privatisation campaign! Experiences internationally have shown that privatisation results in increase in tariffs and a decline in quality services. Our communities have never received a quality service under apartheid. Now things will even be worse: under privatisation only those who can afford to pay, will get services. A major political responsibility that confronts SAMWU: we must ensure that we win the struggle against privatisation. We are confident that based on the democratic participation of ‘our gold', SAMWU workers, COSATU and the community we can be victorious.
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Date Issued: Mar 1998

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Workers News - 1998 A fighting year for SAMWU

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Nov 1998
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English, Zulu, Sotho and Afrikaans
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113347 , vital:33751
Description: You will all remember that in past editions of this magazine we have touched on the anti-privatisation campaign which all comrades have been active in. I must say it is a great pleasure for me to write this message, to thank all the NGO’s, international labour movement, individuals, COSATU and community organisations for all their support. The process of implementing the antiprivatisation campaign has not been an easy one. Just after we started with the campaign, the union was attacked and claims were made that SAMWU was counter-revolutionary. The attacks were clearly intended to shift the focus from the campaign to mud- slinging. They could not match us when it came to knowing the facts of privatisation and it’s terrible effects on the community, and the role politicians play once services are in the hands of the private sector. Despite these attacks, SAMWU still feels that the resolution we adopted to oppose privatisation was the correct one and we hope it will be the correct position for years to come. For a very long time we have campaigned against privatisation alone. Recently ESKOM was intending to privatise electricity. This led to the whole matter of privatisation being discussed at the first COSATU Central Committee meeting in August this year. A resolution was adopted to oppose the ESKOM move and also to oppose the privatisation of any municipal services. COSATU took this matter to NEDLAC, where it was clear that government was going ahead with the process of privatisation regardless of our concerns. A deadlock was reached after days of negotiations. COSATU was forced to call a national strike after realising that government was adamant about implementing their programme of privatisation - comrades might remember that this strike was scheduled for September 23rd, 1998. COSATU and SAMWU were again under attack and individuals within our ranks became labelled by those who are "pro-privatisation." This was a difficult time, but we kept our cool as a union and stuck to our position of anti-privatisation. COSATU stuck to their position that there should be strike action, because again the attack was to shift us to a different terrain of struggle contrary to the one we had prepared ourselves for.
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Date Issued: Nov 1998

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Workers News - Life in the rural areas

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Mar 1998
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113292 , vital:33742
Description: Privatisation is the challenge and we need to campaign strongly against it. We seem to lose sight of the fact that the loyal servants of apartheid are still feeding our elected comrade councillors with false information. These officials hide their incompetence in managing Local Government by proposing that privatisation is the route to alleviate poor services in Local Government. During the apartheid era, Local Government in advantaged areas rendered the best service! What is stopping democracy from rendering the best services now in the disadvantaged areas?We must be vigilant and be prepared to go a little further in providing services to the disadvantaged community. The 30th July agreement at the National Bargaining Council developed guidelines which say that the preferred option to providing services is the public sector. We need as workers to use the guidelines and agreement to our advantage. We must also use SAMWU's Emergency Plan. It is important to read page 11 for more information about this Plan. We need to start implementing our resolution on Socialism to its fullest. We need to actively build the SACP which the congress identified as the main vehicle to achieve our resolution.
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Date Issued: Mar 1998

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Workers News March 1998- Life in the rural areas

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Mar 1998
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/137773 , vital:37558
Description: Greetings to all you comrades! I hope that you enjoyed your festive season and are ready to face the challenges facing us as a union. Our Congress in October 1997 came out with resolutions and we need to implement them.SAMWU will produce a booklet with all the resolutions for comrades to refer to. This booklet will be available from your branch offices soon. Unless we are paper tigers and not acting as a collective, we shall fail to achieve the aims of our last Congress. We are starting with our wage negotiations at a central level on the 19th of March and hoping to conclude by the end of April. This is the first time in our history where we hope we will be able to achieve a single minimum in the sector. With constant consultation and mandate process, we hope we will be able to achieve the above.
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Date Issued: Mar 1998

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SAMWU Workers News - June 1997

Authors: SAMWU
Date: June 1997
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/137754 , vital:37556
Description: Welcome to SAMWU’s first magazine. This is the magazine for all comrades so do not take it home and hide it under your pillow - carry it around and share it with other comrades and your family and community. There are many challenges facing SAMWU members and officials at the present time. Our jobs are at risk from privatisation. Our communities are at risk because big business wants to take away the little services we have now. It is our job to politicise communities to take our antiprivatisation campaign forward. Comrades, we must guard against corruption. Multinational companies are prepared to pay a lot of money to get what they want. We are also having a problem with our comrades in SANCO who are bidding for a 30 year contract for Nelspruit’s water and waste services. We don’t want to end up like Britain where people are buying water in bottles from shops because the water from the taps is undrinkable. We don't want to be forced to buy bottled water that is more expensive than beer.
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Date Issued: June 1997

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Transforming Local Government to meet the needs of the people

Authors: SAMWU
Date: Oct 1997
Subjects: SAMWU
Language: English
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/111074 , vital:33370
Description: The implementation of our previous resolutions on socialism has always created misunderstanding amongst our members. Believing that an effective, achievable education programme for our members will ensure understanding amongst our members. SAMWU’s continued commitment to socialism requires that it develops a counter to the ideological war against socialism. Socialism is the only system which can solve the social and economic problems of working people across the globe and any attempts to reform capitalism will merely lead to greater levels of poverty, unemployment, homelessness, disease, starvation, crime and civil war. Resolves that SAMWU, with COSATU, shall mount a counter-offensive campaign against ' capitalism aimed at proving the superiority of socialism by: Engaging in relentless public criticism of capitalism By conducting, throughout the Federation, ongoing education on the fundamental ideas of socialism and nurturing a working class consciousness and outlook. Fostering a climate of free and fraternal debate on how socialism is to be achieved. SAMWU should forge links with other working class formations internationally as part of the international fight against neo-liberal globalisation.
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Date Issued: Oct 1997

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