The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) is the largest trade union in South Africa and the biggest union of metalworkers on the continent. In early December, Numsa held its 10th National Congress, from the 12th to the 16th of December. Numsa is home to over 350,000 workers, and this congress comes just two years after they were expelled from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), after they took a decision at their 2013 Special National Congress that they could no longer continue to support the ex-liberation party, the African National Congress (ANC), led by Jacob Zuma.
Although many now accuse Numsa of supporting Jacob Zuma for the presidency, General Secretary Irvin Jim, always says the same, "We are not going to be ashamed about voting for Zuma, we thought that at the time, he would lead the left alliance that consisted of the South African Communist Party (SACP), COSATU and the ANC into a better future and begin to implement the Freedom Charter and the National Democratic Revolution, however, by 2012, it was clear that we had failed."
Numsa, has always been honest with itself and the South African public about where it stands politically at any given moment, and this historic decision to break with alliance, led to its expulsion because of its commitment to the principles of the constitution of COSATU as well as a socialist programme of action. Nine unions followed suit when Numsa was expelled, and the 9 are now part of Numsa's New Federation, a temporary name given to the structure that is in the process of setting up an alternative union federation in South Africa, which will launch next year.
The 10th National Congress takes place against the backdrop of growing inequality in the country, more financial insecurity, and a crony authoritarian government, that is at the moment steeped in corruption and, as South African's like to call it, 'captured' by an Indian family called the Guptas, who have been responsible for a great amount of political and economic upheaval in the country since their arrival on the one hand, and white monopoly capital on the other.
The congress, in line with Numsa's constitution, is the highest decision making body in union. This was also an elective congress where regions have already nominated their candidates for each position, in the case of contestation, the 1300 elected delegates in attendance will vote to elect the National Office Bearers of the union, to carry the mandate of the workers forward for another four years. All National Office Bearers have retained their positions. The President, Andrew Chirwa; First Deputy President Basil Cele; Treasurer Mphumzi Maqungo; General Secretary Irvin Jim; and Deputy General Secretary Karl Kloete have all been retained. The position of second deputy president is being contested and has gone to a ballot. The results will be announced tomorrow.
The other main task of the congress, is to debate and resolve on the key points in the Secretariat Report of the general secretary. The resolutions of these debates reached through a process of democratic consensus, in a process where regions persuade each other until everyone is comfortable with a resolution, forms the basis for the programme of action over the next four years. The secretariat report is divided into five sections or reports: International, political, socio-cconomic, organisational and financial. Perhaps of main interest to most, is its political and organisational report.
Recently the government introduced a proposed minimum wage of R3,500/month (approx. $250), which Cosatu adopted. Numsa has rejected this minimum wage absolutely and views it as insult to the working class.
In its 2013 Special National Congress, before its expulsion from COSATU in 2014, Numsa resolved to launch a Movement for Socialism, whose main task would be undertaking an international study of working class parties in the global South, like Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Greece etc, and to formulate a revolutionary programme that would map a path to socialism. According to the general secretary, Irvin Jim, the time has come for the working class to organise as a class in itself, and this means the formation of a Marxist Leninist Worker's Party, that will be worker-controlled, democratically centralised and champion the issues of the working class. One of the key resolutions at this year's congress will be will be the endorsement of the formation a vanguard worker's party.
For Jim, this political party, by very definition cannot be a recruiting party that will draw its base from all sectors of society, rather it should be a worker focused party that will organise both overtly and covertly, and will organise amongst the working class, so "we should not expect a launch party."
The other key debate, will be the formation of and launch of the New Federation, where Numsa and other unions who have left COSATU, as well as new unions will find a new home in a federation that takes its mandate directly from the working class, and is built from the ground up. Numsa has always championed itself as a militant, vibrant and politically conscious union, that while orientating itself towards a revolutionary politics in the broader local and global community, has never lost sight of the bread and butter issues of workers.
The convenor of the steering committee of the New Federation is Comrade Zwelinzima Vavi, the former General Secretary of COSATU, who was also forced out after Numsa was expelled.
Another key issue which the congress will resolve on, is the proposed minimum wage. Recently the government introduced a proposed minimum wage of R3,500/month (approx. $250), which Cosatu adopted. Numsa has rejected this minimum wage absolutely and views it as insult to the working class. They have also openly rejected Cosatu's support for this minimum wage, which just proves that they are completely off track and no longer represent the interests of workers, but rather that S'dumo Dlamini, the current President and others have been become capitalists on worker's money, and are just looking for positions in parliament from the ANC. It was only four years ago that mineworkers on the platinum mines in Marikana were massacred for demanding a living wage of R12,500. Anything below this is condemning people to poverty in South Africa.
Related to this is the fact that Numsa hopes the congress will resolve to take up the fight for free and compulsory education with fervour and to join the students in the streets in their fight in the #feesmustfall movement. For many Numsa members, the fight of the students is their fight too, since they are the ones who have to pay the fees of their children who go to university, and many workers cannot afford the high university fees, and attempts to make university education unattainable for working class children.
Numsa itself is often called, 'the reading union,' because of its emphasis on education and reading, and engagement with all reports and documents released by the union. Its shopstewards receive education and training through shopsteward councils as well as by attending social theory courses at universities. For many, this is the pivot on which conscientising people in preparation for a new party and a new federation will turn.
In many ways then, the fight for a living wage, not a minimum wage, and the fight for free education are linked.
Numsa takes its internationalism extremely seriously, and the first day of the congress opened with all delegates wearing t-shirts with the late Commandante Fidel Castro on them, and he was remembered with deep love and respect by all speakers and delegates.
The other pillar of Numsa's political resolutions is its work in the United Front, this movement was also formed after the 2013 Special National Congress. The United Front, was supposed to be the link between communities and the workplace, and to build community structures in order to strengthen working class struggles. The United Front, has had some impressive successes, in the recent local government elections, they secured many seats in the Eastern and Western Cape Local municipalities, however the task ahead now will be the strengthening of these structures, and using them as bodies to further the overall work of building communities.
A big challenge, which is visible in both the organisational and socio-economic section of the report is the re-structuring of the manufacturing sector, in the context of a fourth industrial revolution, and the resulting threat of job-losses. The general –secretary gave delegates a historical overview of the four industrial revolutions, and how the auto and metal industry is being re-shaping by increasingly globalised capital and economic forces, new technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence, as well as in the context of the rise of the right in the world, with the election of Donald Trump in the United States, the coup in Brazil and the rise of the right in Latin America.
Numsa also extended an invitation to National Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, who noted when he addressed the congress, that "It was a welcomed by unusual invitation for a Minister of Finance to be invited to a Numsa congress." The Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel to come and speak about the growth of the economy, the attack by the Presidency on the Treasury, as well as the desperate need for job creation in a country with over 40% unemployment. Patel also raised concerns over the fourth industrial revolution and its impact on jobs and the economy.
Numsa takes its internationalism extremely seriously, and the first day of the congress opened with all delegates wearing t-shirts with the late Commandante Fidel Castro on them, and he was remembered with deep love and respect by all speakers and delegates. In attendance have been comrades from metal unions from the continent, including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, comrades from the MST in Brazil, and comrades of metal unions in France, Germany and Spain.
More specifically, Numsa hosted the newly elected Brazilian General Secretary, of IndustriALL, Valter Sanchez. IndustriALL, is a global trade union that focuses on international solidarity that, is home to over 50 million workers, over 700 unions in 140 countries, of which Numsa is a member. In the message of support and delivered to the congress, Sanchez, who is the first General Secretary to be elected from the Global South, he said solidarity should be the cornerstone of the movement and action against the fourth industrial revolution, where all workers of the world should be united and support each other in their struggles.
There is no doubt that Numsa, as a giant in the trade union sector, as well as a leader of organised left forces in South Africa has a lot on its plate, it is fighting battles on many fronts and the ANC government grows weaker and more paranoid, corrupt and authoritarian. However, while many have criticised Numsa for its slow pace when it has come to the establishment of the United Front and the New Federation, others have admiration for the way in which Numsa builds consensus, slowly and carefully through education, conversation, and campaigning, from the ground up.
An example of this is how the secretariat report is engaged, and regions are given the chance to raise issues, inconsistencies and give inputs at every level, which include Shop-steward councils, local policy workshops, regional policy workshops, and national policy workshops. By the time congress arrives, members would have familiarised themselves with the content of report, agreed on the areas of convergence and began the work to smooth out minor details and differences, and argued over areas of non-convergence. The congress is then a space to endorse and ratify resolutions, in line with the constitution and previous congress resolutions of Numsa, that all members of the union would have contributed to creating.
This is what is meant by worker-control in Numsa, and the level of discipline, structure, commitment to revolutionary theory and practice and the stress on unity while encouraging, what they like to call, the festival of ideas, is the pain-staking time - consuming work of democratic consensus. Over the next two days, this process of consensus building will work its way to new congress resolutions that the newly elected and re-elected National Office Bearers must take forward and implement.