History Of The Struggle

The Communist University meets this evening for the last time this year at COSATU House, first floor, 1 Leyds Street, Braamfontein. The topic is Lenin’s 1916 “Nascent Trend of Imperialist Economism”. The opening contribution to discussion will be made by Cde Ben Stevenson, General Secretary of the Young Communist League of Great Britain. Ron Press is an SACP member, Treason Trialist, and SACTU veteran who lives in Bristol, England near where his children grew up in exile. If you have been a reader of these Communist University despatches for a while you will be familiar with Cde Ron’s occasional brief, wise and pointed interventions, as well as his unforgettable poems. Yesterday he wrote: “I understand from the Morning Star that the S.A. embassy refuses to recognize the British T & G at their offices in London. This is ridiculous considering the support we got from them during the struggle. Please what can be done? Could COSATU protest?” The Morning Star report is linked below, and also a report on this matter that was run yesterday in the COSATU Daily Labour News. The essence of it is that the South African Embassy in London (that is to say South Africa House in Trafalgar Square) is refusing to recognise union representation of its British employees by the Transport and General Workers’ Union (the “T&G”). Ron Press rightly calls this situation ridiculous. It is a shame that it has come to the point where South Africa House had to be picketed by one of the unions that was most consistent in its support for the struggle. The T&G is a big union, and was a big, strong friend to the ANC and to the solidarity movement (the AAM) for decades prior to our liberation. We used to picket the same South Africa House with them when it was occupied by the old regime. Let us record that the then T&G office-bearer Ron Todd was one of the few who helped the AAM to raise the profile of Steven Lee when the comrade was condemned to 8 years in prison in the late 1970s, together with Tim Jenkin, who got 12 years. We know that the comrades later escaped from Pretoria Prison together with Alex Moumbaris and made their way out of the country with the help of Prema Naidoo and others; but at the time of their arrest and conviction there was precious little international support for them, and the T&G’s intervention, three decades ago, is still fresh in the mind for that reason (for people who know about it). The T&G did it on the basis that Steven Lee had been a T&G member while working in London prior to going back into the country. What a shame that the South African Embassy does not know these things, and take them into account. Steven Lee’s son Brendan Lee will be attending next week’s Young Communist League (SA) Congress as a representative of the British YCL, in a delegation of three, including the above-named Ben Stevenson (who is also a member of the T&G) and James Tweedie. Viva! Viva International Solidarity, Viva! Viva the History of the Struggle, Viva! The next document was delivered by Zwelinzima Vavi yesterday at the well-attended and lively commemoration of the COSATU’s 21 years of history since it was established as the right and proper successor to the SACTU that Cde Ron Press served for so many years together with Zola Zembe and others. See the link for this full and remarkable account. COSATU’s statement on yet another rise in interest rates bears witness to the continuing nature of the struggle. See the link. The SACP Yusuf Dadoo District (Secretary: Nkosiphendule Kolisile) is marching tomorrow in Randfontein for safe, affordable, accessible public transport and for an end to evictions. See the link. Click on these links: Union steps up fight for SA embassy recognition, Morning Star (250 words) T and G presses SA House for recognition Politics-co-uk (411 words) Zwelinzima Vavi, 061207, Tracing the Footsteps of COSATU (2328 words) COSATU condemns rise in lending rates (339 words) SACP Yusuf Dadoo District march for transport, against evictions (292 words)