South African unions are in desperate need of change, experts say, with the low turnout of workers during this week’s “national protest” showing a lack of unity. The relatively small turnout for Wednesday’s demonstrations and walkouts organized by the two largest union federations – the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) – showed a lack of support for the strike. As the country entered the so-called “post-industrial era”, the future of trade unions became increasingly irrelevant, according to political analyst Andre Duvenhage. There was still…
South African unions are in desperate need of change, experts say, with the low turnout of workers during this week’s “national protest” showing a lack of unity.
The relatively small turnout for Wednesday’s demonstrations and walkouts organized by the two largest union federations – the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) – showed a lack of support for the strike.
As the country entered the so-called “post-industrial era”, the future of trade unions became increasingly irrelevant, according to political analyst Andre Duvenhage. There was still a place for trade unions in South Africa, but there was no place for unions that were completely unrealistic and used “conflict and violence” as mechanisms to achieve their goals, he said.
“Many of these unions need to go back to the drawing board, reassess their situation and strategize in a new context,” he said.
“Trade union bosses are not transparent”
Duvenhage said the protest was not a total blackout, but a failure of unions.
“This failure could have a negative impact on the already negative economic situation in the country.”
Duvenhage said union leaders were not transparent and the story about ordinary workers not picking the fruits of the process was true. He stated that there is a problem of mismanagement and poor governance.
“The problem is that they were playing politics, which was problematic.”
Political scientist Levi Ndu said unions will remain relevant if they stand up for the interests of workers. The fragmentation of trade unions was the reason for the low turnout.
“Workers need to be united under one big umbrella,” he said. Whether there were few or many people, the unions were still aware that the government had to plan ahead to avoid being heavily influenced by what was happening in other countries, which had a negative impact on SA.
“It shows how we have to be sustainable in the first place.”
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There was a need for more leaders to be committed to workers’ issues and there was a need for consistency in unions, Ndu said.
“If union bosses stay in office for a long time, they may run out of ideas. We need to have more people who will bring new ideas. Unions in South Africa have been associated with certain individuals and that needs to change.”
The protests were against the skyrocketing cost of living, blackouts and high unemployment.
“Personal Agenda and Power”
But Dowie Roodt, chief economist at the Efficient Group, said that because things were not going very well in South Africa, it was important to note that any disruptions could lead to a significant increase in communal violence.
“We know there are a lot of issues, especially with finances, but unions have to be careful. They need to work on discovering themselves and becoming modern representatives of labor and labor interests,” he said.
“There are a lot of personal agendas and strengths [among union bosses] and the people who pay the price include the unemployed and the workers,” Roodt said.
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Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the relatively low level of strike participation was clear that workers understood they could not deliver on commitments and principles alone. Pamla said the federation was the only weapon they had to confront the class enemies.
“The strike was about the obligations that need to be met and the results of our work with the business. The strike was not about Cosatu issues, it was about SA issues.”
– lungas@citizen.co.za
