CSAAWU joins Saftu

FARMWORKERS union CSAAWU has joined the newly-formed South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu).

The federation was launched this past weekend in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni.

The Commercial Stevedoring and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU) was part of the 1 384 voting delegates from 24 unions, who decided on the new federation’s name, logo, colours, agenda and constitution.

Over 2 000 workers attended the inaugural congress at the weekend.

With its 24 affiliate unions, Saftu will lead close on 700 000 workers.

For CSAAWU it was an exciting moment given that its the first time farmworkers from the union participated at such a congress.

“This is very overwhelming. I’m just taking it all in.

“But it’s great that finally our issues are on the agenda of the big unions,” said farmworker Hartley Booysen from Ladismith.

“I feel confident and strong now that we can achieve the goals we have set ourselves as unionised farmworkers by having a strong federation behind us.”

During the discussion on the congress resolutions, CSAAWU members raised the importance of the land and agrarian question, saying that it was one of the key economic drivers needed to overcome rural poverty and inequality.

Another important victory for CSAAWU at the weekend was placing the importance of organising migrant workers, as a task for the new federation.

In line with this was a call by the new federation for an end to the use of labour brokers.

Saftu will be the country’s fourth workers’ federation after the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) and the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu).

Former Cosatu unions, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu), are Saftu’s largest affiliates.

The central values of Saftu include “independence, worker control and democracy, non-racialism and nonsexism, socialist orientation and militancy in fighting for the working class and the poor,” Raymond Mnguni, the chairperson of the Saftu steering committee, told the crowd at the founding congress. Karel Swart CSAAWU