Given how South Africa’s labor movement has been so fragmented in the private sector over the past decade as the economy has struggled – with the mining sector cutting jobs en masse following the “troubles” in the platinum sector following the 2008 global recession – this is certainly the case. unnerving feeling that the current strength lies only in the public sector.
Cosatu, the labor federation formed 38 years ago, is but a pale shadow of its former glory. When the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) led by Irvin Jim was expelled from the federation in 2014, this was the end of its efficacy.
Until the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), for example, much of the thunder was stolen by early unions such as the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, led by pastor Joseph Mathunjwa. It never regained its credibility from the platinum attack that began during the Marikana tragedy in 2012.
Without the weak Numsa and NUM, what is left of the federation and its largely ignored alliance partner of the ruling ANC is the public sector giant, the National Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu). This week, they have shown their power, affecting the most vulnerable South Africans – possibly as many as four lives in an attack on a hospital.
We are at a dangerous tipping point. Yes, you have read it before, but the square between the trade unions and the government is one that will reveal the limits of the state’s capacity with deadly consequences.
When the state rejected a three-year wage agreement signed in 2018 with public sector employees as President Cyril Ramaphosa settled for a “new dawn”, relations with Nehawu, Cosatu’s strongest affiliate today, turned negative. The deal was done with the embarrassment of ANC national executive committee member Faith Muthambi, who when she was minister of public service and administration, was sure to be wrong. This is mainly because the treasury does not sanction the agreement.
Still a deal. But the country’s economic and fiscal situation means there is no room for the country to maneuver as we deal with the Covid pandemic.
With the country not meeting the side of the deal in the last round of negotiations, there is a high possibility that this round of negotiations will be more difficult than last year. With the ANC alliance in tatters, it will be harder to find common ground.
Who will ultimately suffer if there is no breakthrough in the talks are the most vulnerable in society who depend on state services – indeed everyone.
If the treasury exceeds the budget to meet the legitimate demands of public servants – who, like the rest of us, have faced inflationary pressures since the pandemic and low economic growth – it also has its own consequences. Rating agencies will bite, increasing the cost of only funding the state’s vast apparatus – two new ministries were added this week. In addition, there will be little money to solve the problem of vacancies with the public sector – whether in policing, teaching, doctors and nurses.
We don’t have too many civil servants – contrary to popular belief – but more heads in too many government departments.
Every time I say this, I think of the entourage that follows every minister – or to be fair, at least. What are they there for? Given that most individuals in high positions in national, provincial and local governments exert a lot of influence on branch meetings in the ruling ANC and some control the purse strings, I doubt there will be any project audits.
Without job audits and a drive to professionalize public services, the country will continue to face pressure from public sector employees. Who can blame them? With the country’s private sector lacking confidence and underperforming at a rate that will begin to feed the unemployment crisis, there is no welcoming world outside the public service safety net.