Workers News - SAMWU Women Lead

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