HOW ironic that the most serious political attack on Zwelinzima Vavi comes from within the Congress of the South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).
Ironic but not unexpected. Inside Cosatu, the SACP hacks and storm-troopers of the dominant faction in the ANC want to get rid of him as he is too independent-minded and too critical of President Jacob Zuma and the government.
While he was initially key in getting Zuma elected into the presidency, he quickly realised how problematic that was and opted to return to the heart of the original grievance against former president Thabo Mbeki. He has been consistently outspoken against the failure of government to implement the progressive, pro-poor, pro-worker Polokwane conference resolutions. He has consistently exposed how the Zuma regime has continued with neoliberal pro-growth economics. He has led a determined fight against the predatory corrupt elite through the formation of Corruption Watch. He has also been too independent, working more closely with civil society formations like the Treatment Action Campaign and Section 27.
He has attempted to build popular worker-community alliances through initiatives like the Cosatu-Civil Society Conference of 2010, which drew great anger from the SACP and ANC. He has challenged the SACP for its complicity in the exploitation and oppression of poor and working people in South Africa.
In front of the majority of Cosatu worker delegates at the September congress last year, the ANC and SACP hacks did not have the numbers to oust the very popular Vavi and complete the transformation of Cosatu into a compliant ANC transmission belt.
A false truce was called.
However, in the narrow confines of the Cosatu central executive committee (CEC), they thought they had the numbers, hence the extraordinary attack on Vavi at the last Cosatu CEC meeting.
Alleging financial irregularity with the demand for his suspension is an attempt to put him on the defensive and to take him out of the day-to-day running of Cosatu. For the moment the plot has failed. But who are the THEY?
These are lieutenants of the SACP’s general secretary, Blade Nzimande and his ANC acolyte, Gwede Mantashe.
They have gained the leadership of a number of Cosatu affiliates through sustained anti-worker SACP caucusing. They are not genuine communists, at best they are social democrats and at worst Stalinists of the old school.
They believe that the path to power is through the ANC, no matter how centrist or right its policies may be. They have consequently liquidated the SACP into the ANC. In their thousands, they have reshaped themselves into the image of the capitalist state that the ANC runs.
They are the most loyal and resolute defenders of Zuma regardless of Nkandlagate or any other of his many follies.
They consequently end up defending the indefensible such as the secrecy bill, the Marikana massacre and the Youth Wage Subsidy.
They support the New Growth Path and the National Development Plan, in spite of the fact that the main neoliberal precepts that marked the growth employment and redistribution strategy (Gear) remain the foundations of these policies.
They chose to ignore how the NGP and the NDP reinforce the current accumulation regime in South Africa: in essence, white capitalist profits on the basis of cheap black labour albeit with a better functioning government and perhaps some better public services within reformed, but untransformed, neo-apartheid geographies and ownership patterns.
They call this political chicanery the national democratic revolution (NDR) by which they mean the ANC is the true and only representative of the nation. Their so-called “NDR” is, in effect, nothing more than a cover for a continuing capitalist dispensation, presided over by a new comprador bourgeoisie with a lapdog SACP that can keep the working class in check.
Inside Cosatu they fight against the consolidation of genuine working class struggles and power. They oppose militant and sustained worker action for a living wage and against the continued neo-liberal policies of the ANC and its government. As they did with the compromise on labour brokering, they push every struggle into unjustifiable class compromises that sell out black workers.
They are the leaders of those trade unions that have bought into collaboration with the employers, through exploitative and inequitable social contracts, share-equity schemes, productivity accords, and meaningless social dialogue processes. Their personal life-styles, salaries, cars, housing, and private schooling are not too different from top state officials and private sector managers.
Instead of promoting worker cooperatives and worker-owned banks, they channel worker money to capitalist-controlled investment companies, insurance companies and provident funds.
But the attack on Cosatu from within has been enabled and orchestrated from without. Zuma’s promise of a left shift from Mbeki’s neoliberalism did not last even for a minute after Polokwane.
The ANC at Mangaung nailed its colours to the mast of its white capitalist controllers and BEE backers. The adoption of the NDP with its pro-business policies requires an alliance that does not rock the boat. In the words of the NDP, workers must sacrifice a living wage for some unreachable promise of jobs.
As Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has made clear in his budget, the outlook for jobs is bad. So the government, to please the rating agencies needs labour stability and compliance from Cosatu.
The trade union federation is expected to accept wage moderation, corporate restructuring (which means retrenchments), special economic zones, and youth wage subsidies without a fight.
But a major part of the working class is not willing to accept this. Twenty years after the end of apartheid they are no longer willing to wait for the crumbs dropping from the table of social accords.
That was the real meaning of the mine and farmworker strikes and labour militancy of last year. The Sidumo Dlaminis of this world do not want Cosatu to connect with the fighting spirit of Marikana and De Doorns.
Yet a substantial part of Cosatu under pressure to deliver to its members is no longer willing to pull in its stomach and accept moderation.
Even the business press cautions against sweetheart unionism.
So Nzimande and Mantashe are deployed by their masters in the ANC to neutralise the militants in Cosatu. Stop the rot they are told and bring Cosatu back into the fold. Hence Vavi is the first target of attack. Neutralise him and you arrest militancy within Cosatu.
All progressive forces that still believe we can fight the post-apartheid trajectory towards growing inequality, joblessness, poverty, corruption and authoritarianism through redistributing wealth will need to unite if it is to defend Cosatu. In respect of the attack on Vavi, we must say an injury to one is an injury to all.
Mazibuko K Jara is an activist in the Democratic Left Front
Insight: Inside attack on Vavi is onslaught against us all
Ironic but not unexpected. Inside Cosatu, the SACP hacks and storm-troopers of the dominant faction in the ANC want to get rid of him as he is too independent-minded and too critical of President Jacob Zuma and the government.
While he was initially key in getting Zuma elected into the presidency, he quickly realised how problematic that was and opted to return to the heart of the original grievance against former president Thabo Mbeki. He has been consistently outspoken against the failure of government to implement the progressive, pro-poor, pro-worker Polokwane conference resolutions. He has consistently exposed how the Zuma regime has continued with neoliberal pro-growth economics. He has led a determined fight against the predatory corrupt elite through the formation of Corruption Watch. He has also been too independent, working more closely with civil society formations like the Treatment Action Campaign and Section 27.
He has attempted to build popular worker-community alliances through initiatives like the Cosatu-Civil Society Conference of 2010, which drew great anger from the SACP and ANC. He has challenged the SACP for its complicity in the exploitation and oppression of poor and working people in South Africa.
In front of the majority of Cosatu worker delegates at the September congress last year, the ANC and SACP hacks did not have the numbers to oust the very popular Vavi and complete the transformation of Cosatu into a compliant ANC transmission belt.
A false truce was called.
However, in the narrow confines of the Cosatu central executive committee (CEC), they thought they had the numbers, hence the extraordinary attack on Vavi at the last Cosatu CEC meeting.
Alleging financial irregularity with the demand for his suspension is an attempt to put him on the defensive and to take him out of the day-to-day running of Cosatu. For the moment the plot has failed. But who are the THEY?
These are lieutenants of the SACP’s general secretary, Blade Nzimande and his ANC acolyte, Gwede Mantashe.
They have gained the leadership of a number of Cosatu affiliates through sustained anti-worker SACP caucusing. They are not genuine communists, at best they are social democrats and at worst Stalinists of the old school.
They believe that the path to power is through the ANC, no matter how centrist or right its policies may be. They have consequently liquidated the SACP into the ANC. In their thousands, they have reshaped themselves into the image of the capitalist state that the ANC runs.
They are the most loyal and resolute defenders of Zuma regardless of Nkandlagate or any other of his many follies.
They consequently end up defending the indefensible such as the secrecy bill, the Marikana massacre and the Youth Wage Subsidy.
They support the New Growth Path and the National Development Plan, in spite of the fact that the main neoliberal precepts that marked the growth employment and redistribution strategy (Gear) remain the foundations of these policies.
They chose to ignore how the NGP and the NDP reinforce the current accumulation regime in South Africa: in essence, white capitalist profits on the basis of cheap black labour albeit with a better functioning government and perhaps some better public services within reformed, but untransformed, neo-apartheid geographies and ownership patterns.
They call this political chicanery the national democratic revolution (NDR) by which they mean the ANC is the true and only representative of the nation. Their so-called “NDR” is, in effect, nothing more than a cover for a continuing capitalist dispensation, presided over by a new comprador bourgeoisie with a lapdog SACP that can keep the working class in check.
Inside Cosatu they fight against the consolidation of genuine working class struggles and power. They oppose militant and sustained worker action for a living wage and against the continued neo-liberal policies of the ANC and its government. As they did with the compromise on labour brokering, they push every struggle into unjustifiable class compromises that sell out black workers.
They are the leaders of those trade unions that have bought into collaboration with the employers, through exploitative and inequitable social contracts, share-equity schemes, productivity accords, and meaningless social dialogue processes. Their personal life-styles, salaries, cars, housing, and private schooling are not too different from top state officials and private sector managers.
Instead of promoting worker cooperatives and worker-owned banks, they channel worker money to capitalist-controlled investment companies, insurance companies and provident funds.
But the attack on Cosatu from within has been enabled and orchestrated from without. Zuma’s promise of a left shift from Mbeki’s neoliberalism did not last even for a minute after Polokwane.
The ANC at Mangaung nailed its colours to the mast of its white capitalist controllers and BEE backers. The adoption of the NDP with its pro-business policies requires an alliance that does not rock the boat. In the words of the NDP, workers must sacrifice a living wage for some unreachable promise of jobs.
As Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has made clear in his budget, the outlook for jobs is bad. So the government, to please the rating agencies needs labour stability and compliance from Cosatu.
The trade union federation is expected to accept wage moderation, corporate restructuring (which means retrenchments), special economic zones, and youth wage subsidies without a fight.
But a major part of the working class is not willing to accept this. Twenty years after the end of apartheid they are no longer willing to wait for the crumbs dropping from the table of social accords.
That was the real meaning of the mine and farmworker strikes and labour militancy of last year. The Sidumo Dlaminis of this world do not want Cosatu to connect with the fighting spirit of Marikana and De Doorns.
Yet a substantial part of Cosatu under pressure to deliver to its members is no longer willing to pull in its stomach and accept moderation.
Even the business press cautions against sweetheart unionism.
So Nzimande and Mantashe are deployed by their masters in the ANC to neutralise the militants in Cosatu. Stop the rot they are told and bring Cosatu back into the fold. Hence Vavi is the first target of attack. Neutralise him and you arrest militancy within Cosatu.
All progressive forces that still believe we can fight the post-apartheid trajectory towards growing inequality, joblessness, poverty, corruption and authoritarianism through redistributing wealth will need to unite if it is to defend Cosatu. In respect of the attack on Vavi, we must say an injury to one is an injury to all.
Mazibuko K Jara is an activist in the Democratic Left Front
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