Significance of COSATU ourselves as a political force a local, regional and national levels. And we theredore are toredd to controm the following questions.
What sore of politics?
What sort of liberation are we secking?
Who are our friends and allies in the struggle?
What are we fighting for?
What are we lighting against?
The politica poles adopted terends be our central executive committer solo: 'that workers esperience repression, handship and suttering not only at their workplaces band in every other aspect of their lives and within the communides where the live h is thoretore imperative that the federation should play d major role in the struggle for a non racial and democratic society and that the Federation will not hesitate do take political action to protect and advance the interests of is members and the wider working class.
Clearly we see ourselves as part and parcel of the broad struggle against apartheid and racism. We see ourselves as doll participants in the light tor democracy, justice and perce in South Atrica. Exploitation and working class politics And yet our esperience as workers has taugh us more. Justice tor us is not simple a beauntul phrase. It also means social justice, coonomic justice and political justice. I means frecdon from hunger and poseny, the righe do work, the right to proper housing, decene medical facilities and a meaningtol education sostem that woukd develop the human porential of our people
It is our experience that apartheid racism has gone hand in hand with our exploitation and suftering at the hands of the bosses. Irec emerprise has not been something separate and hostile so racism. Despite the desperate aempes be organised business to distance themselves from the present discredited regime we have learnt one important lesson, that the root and fruit of the apartheid tree is the exploitation of
workers in South Africa. Our most recent experiences at Ciencor, Rand Mines, Maggic Rand all contir this. It takes very little to ammask these monopolies and reveal their ruthless pursuit of superprotits. The last 10 days hare come as a shocking reminder that nothing has changed. Many lives of our members have been sacriliced on the mines through the brutality of the mine bosses and repressive organs of the apartheid stare: the SAl' and army. To us the alliance between big business and the apartheid state is soaked in the blood of the workers.
He is theretore clear that we see ourselves espressing the interests of workers in the struggle for our freedom. We see it as our duty to make sure that treedom docs not merely change the skin colour of our oppressors.
Weare not fighting tor freedom which sees the bulk of workers continuing to sutter as they do today. We theretore see it as our duty to promote working class politics. A polities where workers' interests are paramount in the struggle. Alliances At the same time we recognise that no struggle has ever involved one social force acting alone. We thereore have to look carefully at our socials to see who are our allies.
This brings me to the other importam aspect ol our political policy: ...the independent political incrests of the working class shall be maged through. taking up political struggles through our membership and structures on local, regional and national levels as well as through disciplined alliances with progressive community organisations whose interests de compatible with the imerses of the workers and whose organisational practices further the interests of the working class.
Theretore our experience has taught us firstir, to and isolating ourselves as workers and defining our triends and allies too narrowly, ic the danger of workerism; and secondly, to avoid subsuming ourselves in an incoherent mass need or populist desire for an ill-detined Treedom', ic the danger of populism; and thiredly to choose our allies on the basis of what we know, what has been our experience as workers, and nos on the basis of abstracted principles of what is or is not d'corred approach, ic the danger of impractical but nice sounding theories.
Thas when we look at our society we can broadly say that our allies fall into two groups. Firstly there are those that we regard as close allies of the workers. These are the unemployed (there are more than three million): the rural poor (the landless, peasants and farmworkers); and the miliam black couth. These are our closest allies. We believe that they share with us thedesire for real freedom, for meaningful change. It is our experience that they are largely the brothers, sisters, children and parents of our very own members. Their future and that of the
IN RNA NA N SpAg 198
intornational UPFRONT
workers are inseparably linked. Like us they want a meaningful transformation of our society.
The second group of allies consise of all those who share with us a hatred of the present system. It consists of all those people oppressed by racism ic the entire black people; as well as all democratic forces amongst the white population.
Of course we may have differences with our allies. But we believe that the widest possible unity is necessary to rid ourselves of the evils of apartheid. We may differ in the type of society we would like to see emerging in this country. but we believe we have cnough in common to tight together. Intellectuals and working class leadership On this platform I would like to address a ten wordsto the intellectuals amongst us. We extend our hand to you. We ask you to put your learning skills and education at the service of the workers' movement. If you are a researcher then do research that would help the workers' movement. Look at unemployment, look at the housing crisis, the transport problems workers face. Help expose the poverty wages paid and the pervasive influence of the big monopolies. I1 you are a doctor, serve the people, look at the problems of the working class: malnutrition, kwashiokor and health hazards a work.
But we believe that the direction of the workers' movement will develop organically our of the struggle of workers on the factory floor and in the townships where they live. Accordingly the role of intellectuals will be purely a supportive one of assisting the greater generation of working class leadership.
As COSATU we believe that we have generated a working class loadership that is competent enough to debate its position and to direct the movement itselt. Other organisations What I have said up to now is fairly general, ber in the real world we live in we have to cometo terms with organisations that exist.
COSATU is forging doser ties with democratic community based organisations. In particular we have a high regard for those communities which are building strong grassroots structures in the form of strect committees. We see this as a major step forward and an important principle that is integral to working class organisation on the factors ilor.
We encourage this development and ser 1t ls COSATU's policy for members and kaal structures to play an active role in building such structures. In many areas COSATU locals are becoming a driving force in the growth of solidly based community organisation.
At the third level of our political policy we have chosen, as COSATU, 'na to affiliate to any political organisation', but to retan our independence. Nevertheless our commitmen to ending apartheid, the State of Emergency, the relcase of comrade Nelson Mamdela and all political prisoners, the unbanning of the banned organiations, the end to the pass laws has glen us much in common with a wide range of organisations.
Undoubtedly the most importane of these is the ANC|African National Congress,, a movement whose stature and influence is growing daily in South Africa. In the light of this COSATU recondly met with a high level INTERNATONA, No SpayAnd 1%.
ANC:-SACTU delegation in Lusaka. The talks were open and conducted in a friendly spirit. l was recognised that CO)SATU, as a representaive of the working class, is seized with the task of engaging the general democratic struggle, both as an independent organisation and as an essential componen of the democratic forces of our country. Further it is clear that in the specitic conditions of our country it is inconceivable that political emancipation can be separated from economic emancipation.
Therefore while united in opposition to the entire apartheid system, there is a connon understanding that victory must embrace more than formal political democracy, and must involve a struggle for a socicty free trom the chains of poverty, racism and exploitation which would require a restructuring of the presen ccononne system.
Obviously there is much more to say on this point. However the democratic nature of (COSATU ensures that we first report back fully to our membership before going into details on platforms such as this.
It was in 1960 that Macmillan spoke of the winds of change blowing across Africa, In 1986 those winds have become a hurricane. Even the corridors of parliamen have tele them. When Dr Slabbert resigned saying he saw no purpose in parliamentary debate he was merely signilying the decay and political wilderness that even the isolated white political establishment finds itself in. (OSATI resolves As COSATU we believe that change is coming Theretore as workers we have resolved 1o:
take the load in organising and mobilising nor
only in our factories but in our townships * bring the lessons of solid organising to our
people as a whole and especially to our close
allies LETTER Feminism and Marxism It is rather difficult to understand the criticisms that Valerio Coulas makes of Engels in your last issue ('Women hokd up half the sky. International No f, May/June 1986).
One only has to read Engels even as far back as the 1840, to discover that the integration of temale workers into the workforce is hardly a particular feature of modern capitalism. Por instance in 1850 Engels remarked that the introduction of large scale industry de skilled labour and that industrial exploitation at once engulted the whole famils, imprisoning it in the factorv: women and children were obliged to work withou ceasing day and night until ther fell victim to complere eshaustion'. The contention that Engels believed that women would not be integrated into the workforce under capitalism is not serious.
On the contrary, Engels recognised that womens integration into the workforce whilst remaining domestic slaves in the home was a feature of class society that predated capitalism. Engels statement that 'o.. the first promise tor the emancipation of women is the reintroduction of the entire tomale ses into public industry.. is a demand for the abolition of all forms of
* raise the issues of social, political and
economic transformation now and not leave it
to some future unspecitied date * build workers to gain contidence in
themselves and in their ability to lead our
struggle " understand the dual needs of workers'
autonomy: and to form disciplined alliances
with all progressive forces * organise the unorganised and build powerful
national industrial unions * through our activity and education
programmes to devclop an increasingly
coherem political perspective and programme
for our tederation.
In carrying out these many tasks we will at all times be guided by the following principles. Firstly, our political and cconomic strength lies in building powerful, militant and democratic organisation in the workplace. This strength will guarantee that worker aspirations will not be suppressed. Such organisation is also the basis for the real democratisation of production.
Secondly, orgamsed workers are not representative of the working class as a whole but they constitute its most powerful weapon. The better the organisation the more powerful their weapon becomes and the greater will bi their contribution to the struggle of the working class and the oppressed people in South Africa.
Thirds, we must draw all people into a programme of restructuring the cconomy and society as a whole in such a war that the wealth ot our society is democratically controlled and shared by all its people.
Politics for workers is not only the matter of changing governments. For workers i must go much forther to break the chams of poverty and exploitation that bind our people at present. It is the struggle to liberate our people so that they can realise their fullest potemial as human beings. domestic slavery ic a qualitative change in the character of women's labour. For Engels the prerequisite tor women liberation was not the extent of women's integration into the worklorce but an end to the role of the family as the economic unit of class socicty.
Engels' argument therefore is not a tactical prescmption but the assertion that the abolition of class society is a prerequisite tor the emancipation of women. Many marxists understand this to mean relegation of the struggle for women's liberation to the indefinite future. But it is also wrong for marxists today to narron their vien of women's liberation to issues relating to women as wage carners. No amount of reforms under capitalism will abolish the role of the tamily as the economic unit of society and likewise there is no way that marxists can avoid the struggle now to popularise a programme for women liberation that explains that the oppression of women neither started with the adren of capitalist property relations nor ends with their elimination. Roy Wall,
5 London
Who are the real left need it? Where does it come friends in high places. As presented in New
'Style' and the Left