COSATU Co-ops - Workers Build Democratic Workplaces

In February this year the COSATU Education Department called a meeting of co-operative projects linked to the COSATU affiliates. At this meeting were comrades from ACTWUSA, NUM, NUMSA, NUWCC, and POTWA. The comrades explained how it came about that their union started co-operatives or started to think about initiating a co-operative project. SAWCO was formed in 1985 after the mass lockout of 960 Sarmcol strikers. 1987 was the year of the miners strike and saw one of the biggest strike waves in the history of the our country. On the mines, the bosses of Anglo fired more than 13 000 workers. More than 3 500 POTWA members were dismissed by the government bosses of the post office. But not all projects started because of mass dismissals through strikes. In 1986 a bulk buying project was formed by union members at the General Motors Engine Plant in Port Elizabeth. They took their initiative back into the union for discussion. Towards the end of 1986 ex-NAAWU was looking at how to use the organised strength of the union to the benefit of members outside the shopfloor. Today, in NUMS A, the union is in the process of establishing a giant consumer co-operative, Siyanda, which means, "we are growing". In 1985 ACTWUSA vowed that it would never accept any retrenchment package from Frame that would result in workers losing jobs. And so in 1988, ACTWUSA negotiated a retrenchment package with the Frame bosses. The agreement said that the Frame company would provide the money to start a factory which would be owned and controlled by the union and which would provide jobs for the retrenched workers