Amy Musgrave
6 November 2008
Johannesburg — THE Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) starts its two-day congress today with an address by President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Although Fedusa, which is the second-largest trade union federation in the country, is not politically aligned, it will be important for the African National Congress (ANC) to court it, a signal that it takes the federation seriously.
Also, with the formation of the breakaway party from the ANC, the ruling party is under more pressure to woo voters.
Motlanthe's presence at the meeting is also important because the new party has made overtures to Fedusa, but with little success.
Axed Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) boss Willie Madisha, who is a member of the new party, has warned that unions from a number of federations are attempting to set up a new group that would outnumber Cosatu, the largest federation in the country and aligned to the ANC.
Fedusa says in documents prepared for its congress that it is not yet known how former president Thabo Mbeki's resignation has dented the internal political dynamics of the ANC.
"South Africans are highly politicised and, with a high level of political awareness in the population and the current political scenario, whatever the process outcome may be will have the potential to defer the middle ground and establish a policy direction of general fundamentals supported by a greater portion of the majority," it says.
The federation has proposed a number of resolutions covering the labour market, public finance and monetary policy, development, and trade and industry.
On unemployment, Fedusa, like Cosatu, has called for the creation of "decent work" so that employers can reach their goals of production and maximum turnover while contributing to a sustainable environment of stable economic growth.
The draft resolutions say the federation will press the government to commit serious investment in making decent work in the public service more attractive, and to increase its expanded public works programme.
The resolutions call for the single public service to be abandoned and for local government to be given the opportunity to deliver on its constitutional mandate.
On land reform and food security, the resolutions say "food banks" should be established to serve as feeders for soup kitchens and nutrition centres.
The federation says it will pressur e the government to urgently compile databases, including a land audit, of all available state land. It also calls for a review of the national policy on land reform to address the failures in land development.
Fedusa wants the definition of casual or part-time work to be included in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
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