NEHAWU, the fastest growing union in the country, held a successful two day National Executive Committee {NEC} meeting, between the 30-31 October 2011 at the Parktonian Hotel in Johannesburg. This strategic constitutional structure discussed political, organisational and key socio-economic issues focusing particularly on health and education.
The national structure also reflected on the international crisis of capitalism and did an analysis of the recent worldwide developments and their impact on the working class. We have concluded that the key and overriding task of the moment is one of building and consolidating working class power, beginning with our own organisational machinery. This organisational machinery will assist in our long term goal of building and consolidating socialism as a system of the future.
Following extensive deliberations the NEHAWU NEC came to the following conclusions:
POLITICAL
- The NEC concluded that it is our revolutionary duty as a union to fight for the unity of Cosatu, ANC, SACP and all Cosatu affiliates.
- The NEC reiterates its historical conviction that the ANC continues to be the only revolutionary weapon in the hands of our people for socio-political emancipation and that our strategic political task is the defence and consolidation of progressive Polokwane resolutions and the support of its leadership collective.
- The NEC supports the decision by President Jacob Zuma to reshuffle his cabinet especially the removal of two cabinet ministers Sicelo Shiceka and Gwen Mahlangu Nkabinde and the suspension of National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele.
MTBPS
- The NEC condemned the Minister of Finance,Pravin Gordhan for saying that the “framework for the 2012 Budget provides for more moderate cost-of-living adjustments for public sector employees than in recent years” even before the start of the negotiations at the Public Service Collective Bargaining Counc
a) We view this as a reckless statement and an unnecessary provocation of workers because it deceitfully supports the misleading falsehood that public servants are overpaid especially professionals.
b) The NEC wants to make it clear that there will be no discussion of the public service wage moderation until the public service remuneration policy has been reviewed as agreed during the public service summit.
HEALTH
- We acknowledge a number of advances made by government in implementing its Medium Term Strategic Plan for 2009-2014 (Ten Point Plan) for the transformation of our health care system.
- We support and laud the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi for allocating an amount of R1, 24 billion over the next three years earmarked for the revitalisation of 122 nursing colleges.
- We demand more detailed information on the incorporation of Community Health Workers {CHWs} into the public service. We also demand an investigation into the future role and positioning within the public service ,of Home-Based Carers ;who provide palliative care to bedridden sick people who can’t be attended to by CHWs.
- The union commend the Department of Health {DOH} for appointing a consortium to audit all public health facilities (from clinics to tertiary hospitals) throughout the country from February 2011 to May 2012.
a) This exercise will focus on the six priorities which are values and attitudes of staff, cleanliness of facilities, patient waiting times, patient safety and security, infection prevention and control and availability of critical medicines and supplies.
- The NEC welcome the release of the Green Paper on National Health Insurance {NHI}in August. We are in broad agreement with the thrust of the document but we totally reject a statement that says an “investigation into a multi-payer system will be undertaken”.
- NEHAWU supports the Human Resources Strategy for the Health Sector, and we believe that this strategy marks a welcome departure from previous human resources strategies developed by the DOH. However we are concerned that it almost entirely focuses on health professionals, to the exclusion of other workers in the health sector.
- This strategy must be viewed in conjunction with the Green paper on National Health Insurance which will generate the resources and also the re-engineering of primary health care, both of which will make health services accessible to poor communities particularly those in the rural areas.
EDUCATION
- The union is worried about widening pay gap between managers of tertiary institutions, on one hand and the teaching, administration and general staff on the other.
- We are concerned by the frequent use of casual labour by many tertiary institutions around the country and the corporitisation of the management and operations of the higher institutions.
- The NEC welcome the de-merger of MEDUNSA and the University of Limpopo, with an added goal of establishing a medical school at the latter institution linked to a new tertiary hospital.
- The NEC is encouraged by the steps taken so far in exploring the establishment of a “University College” in Northern Cape and a Comprehensive University in Mpumalanga.
- The NEC calls on the department of higher education to immediately disband the University Council of the Free State University and also dismiss Prof Jansen because they are blocking real transformation.
b) Their artificial transformation project is a self serving exercise that is unilaterally implemented without the consultation of the university stakeholders. They have banned all progressive movements in the campuses, and the majority of black academics there are foreigners, who are intimidated and cannot object to anything untoward.
- The NEC calls on the Minister of Higher Education,Dr Blade Nzimande to immediately finalise the process of putting the crisis-ridden Walter Sisulu University under administration.
INTERNATIONAL
- The NEC has resolved to develop a dedicated programme to support unions that are fighting austerity measures in Europe especially our sister union PAME of Greece.
- We will work with the World Federation of Trade Unions {WFTU} and other progressive organisations in South Africa such as AMEC to establish links and relationships with the new militant trade unions in the Middle East.
- Moving forward we will intensify our solidarity work with the unions and progressive formations in Botswana, Swaziland, Palestine and everywhere where the working class is waging the struggle for emancipation.
- The NEC condemns the barbaric execution and sadistic display of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s body by the so called Libyan revolutionaries and their imperialist benefactors’. The people of Libya deserve their freedom however the imperialist intervention in this conflict subverted what could have been a people’s democracy into a coup by foreign funded mercenaries.
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