Cosatu establishes election ‘war rooms’ to back embattled ANC
Labour federation Cosatu, which has a membership of about 1.6million, has called on workers to ensure a decisive victory for the ANC in the 2024 elections as its support is expected to dip below 50% for the first time since 1994.
Cosatu said it had established its election war rooms, with affiliated unions working “flat out, across workplaces and communities” to mobilise voters to return the ANC to the Union Buildings on May 29. The ANC is dogged by administrative, operational, financial and governance challenges.
“We cannot afford to risk the gains working-class communities have won since 1994 to political parties that promise to gut the public service, roll back social upliftment programmes and collapse our progressive labour laws,” said Cosatu general secretary Solly Phetoe.
He was addressing the media on Thursday on the outcome of the central executive committee meeting held in Johannesburg this week.
The electorate has grown disillusioned with the ANC’s underwhelming track record in government, which has resulted in a rising cost of living, high unemployment rate, entrenched poverty, systemic corruption, violent crime and crumbling public infrastructure, which has affected exports.
Phetoe said 2024 would be an important year for workers as they faced “our most contested elections since 1994”.
“Cosatu and our affiliates have reaffirmed our support for the alliance and a decisive victory for our ally, the ANC, nationally and provincially. The federation is of a firm view that the national democratic revolution, steered by the ANC-led alliance, is our only programme, with all its contradictions and challenges, to transform our society,” Phetoe said.
“Whilst we are disappointed by mistakes made by government, we appreciate the many decisive gains workers have won since 1994 and under the current sixth administration led by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“The alliance led by the ANC remains the only progressive and viable vehicle to advance working-class struggles. Workers are therefore called upon to defend the gains of our national democratic revolution by going to vote to ensure a decisive victory of the ANC on May 29,” Phetoe said.
The labour federation has been sharply critical of the governing party’s performance and its handling of the unemployment crisis, low economic growth, rising cost of living and corruption. It has said the ANC risked losing the 2024 elections if it did not reform and deal with the challenges dogging the poor and the working class.
The ANC has relied on Cosatu’s grassroots support to win elections since SA’s first democratic election in 1994.
Phetoe said Cosatu would work with the ANC and the SA Communist Party to ensure government deployees were held accountable for the implementation of the ANC manifesto beyond May 29.
In its election manifesto, the ANC promises to create 2.5million work opportunities.
Meanwhile, Phetoe said Cosatu remained “deeply concerned” about the effect logistical challenges at Transnet were having on the mining, manufacturing and agricultural sectors.
“These pose a threat to thousands of jobs and tax revenue. Whilst progress has been made in easing port congestion in the past two months, more needs to be done to avert a job bloodbath in the mining sector, where thousands of retrenchment notices have already been issued. We cannot afford to lose a single job,” he said.
Cosatu hailed the recent budget tabled by finance minister Enoch Godongwana as a “very difficult balancing act”.
It contained both progressive interventions, worrying cutbacks and missed opportunities, Phetoe said.
“We will continue to engage government on the need to move away from an austerity approach towards a more aggressive package, stimulating the economy, reducing unemployment, providing relief to the poor, rebuilding the state and state-owned enterprises, and tackling crime and corruption.
“Contrary to misleading neoliberal propaganda, the budget has confirmed that the wage bill is not out of control and, in fact, has fallen from 35% to 31% of the budget.
“We are concerned about the impact this is having upon the ability of the state to retain the skilled professionals necessary to provide the quality public services society depends upon.”