4 September 2012
The Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party in the North West held a successful bilateral meeting on 3rd September 2012 at the COSATU provincial office, Elijah Barayi House.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the programs of both organisation towards the end of the year. The SACP has just launched the recruitment month and will be moving into the Red October Campaign which will focus on the ‘know your neighbourhood’ campaign, while October is for health and safety and recruitment and a listening campaign month for COSATU
The SACP recruitment will focus on the workplaces and building workplace party units in order to build working class consciousness in all the members of COSATU and the strengthening of the SACP in the workplace. At the same time COSATU will use this opportunity to recruit workers who are not members of COSATU-affiliated unions in order to build workers’ unity and solidarity; but there will be more focus on the vulnerable sector of our province which is the farming, domestic and security sectors.
COSATU will also use this time to identify the farms in which they will launch the roving safety representatives program, together with the International Union of Food Workers.
The program that both organisations will embark on in the coming three months will include the Free the Cuban Five campaign, the Che Guevara memorial lecture and the proudly South African campaign.
The bilateral meeting received a briefing on the development at the Lonmin mine in Marikana, condemned what happened there and took an opportunity to send a message of condolences to the families of the deceased. It is our call to build strong affiliates and a strong COSATU, as we are facing attacks from within the capitalist communities and opportunistic political attacks.
The meeting also looked at the current political challenges facing the province and resolved that there is an urgent need to convene an alliance summit and develop a political program which will run for the coming two years. Both organisations committed themselves to working for the unity of the ANC in order to strengthen the unity of the alliance.
The meeting also identified the need to consolidate and unite the left forces of the country and the alliance for the total emancipation of the working class in our country.
The meeting also agreed that COSATU should emerge from its coming national congress stronger and united and maintained the support of the ANC Polokwane resolutions towards Mangaung.
The meeting also agreed to defend the federation, its affiliates and the alliance against the political opportunists who are using the death of workers at Marikana for their own political agenda.
The meeting agreed to start a discussion with the ANC in the province to deal with the matter of the election campaign in 2014 and respond to the challenges of service delivery facing our poor communities.
Finally the meeting agreed that the program of both organisations will be coordinated by the secretaries.
For information feel free to call COSATU NW Provincial Secretary, Solly Phetoe [0823044055] or the SACP NW Provincial Secretary Madoda Sambatha [0828005336]