09 Jun 2017
The NUM Central Committee meeting is taking place in Pretoria and WFTU is represented by Nikolas Theodorakis. The Central Committee (CC) of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is meeting on the 8th to 9th June 2017 in Pretoria.
Over 700 delegates from the branches of the NUM throughout South Africa are attending. The Central Committee discussions are focused on the organisational, economic, political and international matters facing the NUM. This year ‘s theme is “Recruit, Fight Retrenchments, Assess and Forge unity”.
Following the speech delivered by Nikolas Theodorakis:
“Dear comrades of NUM CC
On behalf of the World Federation of Trade Unions, of its almost 100 million members from 126 countries of the world and on behalf of my organization, PAME, from Greece, I transfer to you warm militant greeting and wishes for success to the works of your central committee.
Dear comrades, it is our great pleasure to be here with you, only a few months after the successful 17th World Trade Union Congress of the WFTU, which was hosted and organized by you, the forces of WFTU in South Africa.
This congress had great significance also for the following reasons. It was the 1st time in the history of the world trade union movement that a World Trade Union Congress took place in Africa.
Also, it is the 1st time that in the Presidency of a World Trade Union organization was elected a comrade from Africa, as comrade Mike from NEHAWU was elected President of the WFTU. Furthermore, South Africa is represented at the Presidential Council of WFTU with one more comrade, from NUM, comrade General Secretary David Sipunzi, who was elected Vice President of the WFTU.
The successful organization and the role of the WFTU affiliates in the Congress, the role of POPCRU, CEPPWAWU, NEHAWU and NUM was crucial and showed the south African unions as a pioneering force in the trade union movement of Africa, but also in the rest of the world.
In this direction, your forces, the forces of WFTU in South Africa have great duties in front of them, as well as great possibilities. Important stop is the PanAfrican Meeting of WFTU in Nigeria, on July 25-26. There your forces, with the other African unions, should evaluate the developments, the new conditions, and to organize the response of the workers of the richest continent, which has suffered and still suffers till today the greatest theft of its peoples’ wealth.
Additionally, important role can and should be for NUM its participation to the 3rd World Congress of Young Workers of WFTU, which is to take place in Rome, November 2-3. Especially during a period when the new generation suffers the consequences of the capitalist crisis and has to face unemployment, flexible working relations, etc.
Dear comrades,
Specifically, the conditions of the global capitalist crisis will escalate the offensive of the monopolies, of imperialism, against the peoples. As you know today, the wealth owned by the 8 richest persons of the planet equals with that of the poorest 3.5 billions of the world population. The wealth of the capitalists is based on the more brutal exploitation of the workers. On the theft of the natural resources of the countries.
And when the peoples rise up, when people raise their heads up, when the workers, rallied in their unions try to change the status quo, then imperialism, its mechanisms, like the IMF, the World Bank, their secret services, even their armies intervene to control, to protect the profits of their multinationals. They do everything so as to eliminate from the peoples their right to decide themselves for their own future.
In this task, valuable tool is their mercenaries within the trade union movement, the ITUC. A mechanism of imperialism, which with money and threats controls big unions for the purposes of the USA and the IMF. And they use all means and all tactics for this. Wherever they cannot buyoff, or strike directly, they spread confusion, disorientation. They put obstacles in the action of the fighters so as to forward the plans of the monopolies. We witnessed their dirty role in Libya and Syria, where they supported the bloodbath caused by the imperialists. We see them in Venezuela to attack the legal Government, by repeating the propaganda of US State Department. While, with pride they finance the mafia of Miami against the Cuban revolution and support the Apartheid of Israel against the heroic people of Palestine. They are forces dangerous for the peoples, for the workers of each country and they must be isolated.
Especially dangerous are those forces who put on the mask of the “revolutionary”, those who say a lot of words, but do not do anything for the rights of the workers. Opportunists leaders, who for the profits of the multinationals sacrifice the workers.
WFTU, the class oriented trade unions of the world and the heroic unions of South Africa are not intimidated by such tactics by imperialism and its lackeys.
We have the power that comes from the success of the WFTU Congress, its decisions and class orientation.
We have the power of the heroic COSATU
We have the power of the heroic SACP
We have the power of class solidarity, of organization, internationalism, of those characteristics of the working class, of its values that imperialism could not and cannot defeat.
We have the power of the heroes of the working class
We have the power of Moses Mabida
We have the power of our martyrs
We have the power of the great struggles of the past, of the present and of the future
We have the power of the just struggle of the working class for the abolition of exploitation of man by man.
Based on this power, we are optimist that NUM and the other forces of WFTU in South Africa will continue their vanguard role in defense of the workers of South Africa, but also we are optimist that you will fulfill with success your new duties, to be the voice and the fist of the class unions of Africa, of the workers of the world.”
The CC will conclude with a rally on the 10th of June 2017 in Rustenburg.
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