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THE POLITICAL SUPPRESSION OF OUR DEMOCRATIC VOICE IN CEPPWAWU !!
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of CEPPWAWU has suspended our Regional Office Bearers (ROBs) and they are: cdes John Appolis, Dan Nkotsoe, Vuyani Tayika and Nomboniso Ndlwana. The NEC suspended them on the 6th May 2003.

In the Regional Shop Stewards Council on Saturday, 10th May 2003, we, as shop stewards, rejected this suspension of our regional leadership. They were suspended for putting forward the democratic mandate from the Region in the NEC. We took the democratic decision to Call for a Workers’ Referendum on the Alliance and on the 2004 national elections. We rejected the subsequent decision of the NEC to investigate the call for a workers referendum and their visit to the Locals.

Last year we made an assessment of the two-day general strike of Cosatu against privatization. On the basis of our assessment of the strike we put forward the call for the workers’ referendum. The call for the referendum was important because workers felt that before the elections we fight battles with the ANC government. But when the national elections approach we are turned into the election machinery of the ANC. This workers’ referendum was to test workers’ views on the alliance and on 2004 national elections. Workers told us that COSATU cannot fight privatization decisively because of the Alliance with the ANC/SACP. This was the political message that came out of the strike and this is what workers were sending to COSATU and CEPPWAWU.

We are saying that workers have the right to belong to any political organisation and they belong to the ANC, PAC, AZAPO, APF and so on. They therefore have the right to put forward their political views in the Union.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!! SITHI KWANELE!!
We had enough of the national leaders trying to undermine and divide the Wits Region. We have consistently struggled to ensure that the union is strong and the Union is financially managed properly.

Financial Mismanagement of the Union by the NOBC
This is not first time the national leaders are trying to suppress our democratic voice. In 2001, we challenged the financial mismanagement of our Union. The Union was (and still is) in a very serious financial crisis. This financial crisis was largely to due to the national leaders not managing the finances properly. This financial crisis resulted in workers having to pay a once of levy of R20 to assist in overcoming the financial crisis. The Union has presently, a deficit of over R 1 million.

The Wits Region proposed a vote of no confidence in the NOBC for financially mismanaging the Union. For daring to challenge this financial mismanagement the Wits Region was subjected to an investigation by the NOBC. This was an attempt to intimidate and undermine the Wits Region. The NOBC came to investigate and as shop stewards we told them in very strong terms that the vote of no-confidence is a Regional position. We told them not to waste Union monies by conducting useless investigations.

Masibambane Unemployed Project
The national leadership has been trying to undermine our efforts to organize retrenched and dismissed members of CEPPWAWU. The Wits Region formed the Masibambane Unemployed Project to bring about unity between the employed and the unemployed. The Wits Region together with Masibambane Unemployed Project have been taking up the issue of pension surplus and the re-employment of our retrenched comrades. Marches have been organised to some of the companies and hundreds of workers are attending the marches and meetings.

The national leaders are saying that the Masibambane Unemployed Project is a political problem. Our Region has been challenging these attempts to undermine the Masibambane Unemployed Project. So instead of welcoming the initiative to organise the former members of CEPPWAWU, the national leaders are trying to destroy it.

HANDS OFF THE WITS REGION
We feel strongly that the suspension of our Wits ROBs is aimed at removing our democratically elected leaders and replace them with a “PUPPET REGIME”. We can no longer tolerate that our Region is undermined and that our democratic voices are suppressed. We demand : Hands Off the Wits Region !!!

As the Regional Shop Stewards Council:
1. We are demanding the immediate and unconditional lifting of the suspension of the Regional Office Bearers.
2. We are calling on members to suspend subscriptions with immediate effect. This suspension must go on until our demands are met. We are demanding that the unmandated, undemocratic and caucused decision taken by a clique to suspend our Regional Office Bearers in the NEC is immediately and unconditionally reversed.
3. 3. We are calling on members and union officials not to recognise the “BUSH REGIME” of the two officials appointed to replace our democratically elected leadership.
4. We are mandating the Local chairpersons to immediately take charge of the Region. The Local Chairpersons will also ensure all urgent activities that had been stopped by the suspension are resumed. This includes ensuring that the staff urgently attends to servicing of members.
5. 5. We are demanding the immediate removal of the consultant, RUDI DICKS, appointed by the general secretaries to negotiate wages in Industrial Chemicals. This person resigned from the union, abandoning workers and issues he was supposed to deal with. He had no decency to inform us of his resignation. We also believe that collective bargaining is at the heart of all our activities as a union and thus cannot be subcontracted to an unaccountable consultant.
6. 6. We also demand that the decision of the FURNITURE WORKERS to pull out of the furniture medical aid be respected and implemented.

Issued by the Shop Stewards of the Wits Region ( 10 May 2003 )

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION & STATEMENTS CONTACT:
MOLEFE RAMADIRO (JOHANNESBURG LOCAL CHAIRPERSON)
ON 083 596-0022