THE OVERALL political line of COSATU was spelt out clearly at the closing session of its founding congress by its newly elected president, former vice-president, Barayi. Speaking under banners bearing the slogans tion, One Country', and Workers Unite', Barayi called on the South African president Botha to go and instead to 'make way for the real leader of the people Mandela.' Mandela is of course the imprisoned Leader of the African National Congress (ANC). Barayi was characterised oy the Financial Times, in reporting the congress, as a 'stalwart' of the ANC before it was banned.
LUDAIU'S constitution hat, 'We ... firmly commit ourselves to a united democratic South Africa, free of oppression and economic exploitation. We believe this can only be achieved under the leadership working class.
Barayi demanded that the state of emergency imposed African government in July He also demanded that the ban on the Congress of South African Students be ended.
COSATU's president stated that the union's demand was for one person one vote in a unitary state. He rejected
Botha's 'reform'
mineworkers black population.
Elijah Ine COAlU regime's system of Bantustans -'One Federaand deepen tribal and The Nelson treme forms of oppression.
Passes
declares ed that the direct action.
for against the of a united I calle US and British governments, be lifted. said, 'They would starve, settlers arrived in 1652.' parliament in which two segregated and powerless chambers were set up for collaborators from the Indian and Coloured sections of the congress passed a resolution condemning the apartheid rural areas tor Atricans that are designed to create a migratory labour force language diviBantustans, COSATU fight stated, are intended to thwart the 'just struggle or one person, one voic I c unitary South Africa.' The Bantustan leaders were accused of practicing 'exsecurity tion as Barayi called for the abolition of pass laws within six months or threatenregime would face of race."
It is illegal in South Africa to call the investment sanctions but COSATU, Barayi stated at the rally, 'is in full support of disinvestment.' Referring to the Barayi tell us lney are against disinvestment because the black people but black people have been starving here since the first white wages.
The COSATU congress also took up the position of women in South Africa. COSATU adopted a resolution calling for a fight 'against all unequal discriminatory treatment women al work. in society and in the federation.? It called for equal pay for work of equal value and 'for restucturing of employment so as 10 allow women and men the opportunity qualifying for jobs of equal value.
COSATU's founding resolution on the subject said that the union must "sexual harassment in whatever form it occurs' and would struggle for child care and family facilities and for full maternity rights, "including paid maternity and paternity leave and job The resolution also stated that 'women workers experience exploitaworkers and oppression women and that black women are fur ther discriminated against on the basis Two other resolutions adopted at founding altacked the policies of foreign and South African corporations. One said that such corporations exploited workers southern Africa 'by reaping huge profits and exporting them to Europe and America. The other resolution charged that companies operating Africa paid workers only starvation COSATU stated that it would demand a national minimum living wage adjusted to compensate for intlation. It called for company books 1o be opened for inspection 'so that workers could 0I see exactly how the wealth they have produced is being wasted and misused by the employers' Barayi repeated the demand, which of Charler, mines. Politics These developments in COSATU's politics, as well as its mere existence, 'were used by the apartheid regime to launch an immediate attack federation. declared it banned ANC. as that 'This organisation with its declared aim of standing in for the ANC is, under the guise of a trade union movement, intent on furthering the aims of a banned organisation. namely to make the country ungovernable. The question is whether it can be allowed 1o do so.
The ANC itself openly hailed the formation of COSATU ANC's South December declared: 'The formation of this trade union federation was greeted with much struggling people because it stone for the unity of the working class in South Africa, the main force of our national liberation revolulion ...
•Fellow countrymen, COSATU has been born. The giant has arisen.
United (UDF), supported by the ANC, was present COSATU with a banner pledging support lo the new union.
African (SACTU), allied to the ANC, issued a press release enthusiastically welcoming the formation of COSATU.
profit system.
included in the ANC's Freedom nationalisation on the government to be a surrogate for the South African governradio declared on 4 December (COSATU), . The broadcast Radio Freedom on 2 by of our country lays the main foundation not the Democratic Front al the founding congress of The South Unions TOMORI Funeral of Andries Raditsela, FOSATU, DESPITE THE claims of the apartheid regime, and an evident con vergence between the of COSATU and the ANC, there is slightest evidence that COSATU is directly controlled by the ANC. Nor is there any evidence whatever that the ANC created the key unions that went to make up On the contrary all the evidence is exactly the opposite. What is occurring in South Africa is a convergence originally independent forces on an in creasingly correct political line - that of a united front of all the exploited