2006 Still Alive And Kicking

COSATU’s new appeal to the Constitutional Court is a major historical event. Here we have the embers (or perhaps only ashes) of the legislative labour regime, once put together under the “best constitution in the world” (our supposedly entrenched and “sovereign” piece of paper) being blown upon one last time by organised labour. See the linked document. But if it becomes apparent from this case that the modest fire of legally enforceable labour rights cannot be re-kindled, then such rights will have to be re-forged in the conflagration of mass action. The working class has faced such a situation before in South Africa. The bourgeois class should think very carefully before it decides to take us back to those days. They should know that it is not for nothing that we have a slogan which says: “An injury to one is an injury to all”. What this case shows is that the vaunted best-constitution-in-the-world is putty in the hands of the ruling class, and no bulwark at all for the proletariat. The workers’ guarantee is not to be found in constitutional promises, but rather in organisation, constant vigilance, and readiness for mass action. COSATU affiliate SADTU contradicts the CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Olive Shisana, who made allegations about teachers. See the link below. SANCO’s Congress was aborted by an announcement of its outgoing President, Mlungisi Hlongwane, when his supporters shouted and threw furniture about, but failed to overwhelm the other delegates. No doubt he thought he could just continue in office as before, without the mandate of the Congress. He acted as if this was the case, and made announcements in the name of the organisation. But SANCO is not going to allow such a state of affairs to continue. See the link below. PUDEMO’s Congress starts today. It should make an unequivocal democratic revolutionary statement. It should try to ensure that the autocracy is essentially defeated before its next Congress after this one. See the document linked below. The YCL has a post-Congress Press Conference tomorrow at 11h00 in COSATU House, Braamfontein, Johannesburg (this Communist University’s home town, and situated in Gauteng Province). The nature of the new leadership, its general line of march, and its specific plan of action for the disbanded YCL Gauteng Provincial structure are all matters of potentially great consequence. See link below. Click on these links: COSATU to Con Court, appealing SCA RusPlat v CCMA judgement (891 words) SADTU response to Olive Shisana of HSRC re teachers, sex and money (182 words) SANCO censors its ousted president, Sapa (180 words) PUDEMO Media Advisory re 6th General Council 061221-23 (250 words) YCL post-Congress media briefing (130 words)