Let Ramaphosa lead as he should, Cosatu

There was a time when trade unions used to call the shots. They not only set the agenda in the workplace, but their voice carried a lot of weight politically.

In fact, they were the kingmakers in the ruling party because they anointed presidents. It’s hard to forget it was actually then-Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi who played a massive role in ensuring Jacob Zuma rose to the presidency after ensuring Thabo Mbeki was ousted. But that power planted the seed that became the undoing of the unions.

Their choice to align themselves with particular factions of the ruling party left them exposed and when forces aligned to Zuma felt threatened, they set out to neutralise the once-powerful trade union federation. And, to an extent, they succeeded.

Today, the unions actually have more bark than bite because they compromised themselves at the altar of political power when they should have stuck to workers’ issues.

Following last week’s budget speech by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, public sector trade unions have come out guns blazing. Mboweni continued on his route of sobering the nation up and forcing everyone to face reality by declaring the public sector wage bill will be trimmed by up to R160 billion over the next three years.

Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi went as far as urging the president to “lead the country and his Cabinet, because he was elected to do so”. Not only that, she accused Mboweni of acting outside of his portfolio. She seems to forget that the minister of finance’s department provides funding for all departments. Losi doesn’t seem to realise the time for unions to be setting the agenda for government is over.

Mboweni did not create the situation of the government’s wage bill being 40% of government spending. He did not cause the economy to grow at less than one percent, but he has the responsibility to kick-start growth.

And most importantly, he has the task of ensuring that, in these tight economic times, every rand that government collects is spent fruitfully. That cannot be done when the public sector wage bill is the biggest government spend.

Sure, the general secretary of Cosatu is duty-bound to appear to be doing something to try and save the wages of her federation’s members, but doing so in defiance of facts is irresponsible.

Losi needs to realise that the president on whom she’s calling to lead “as he should” needs a finance minister to find the money to put flesh on whatever he deems to be deserving.

When the economy isn’t growing, there is less for the government to collect in taxes. Logically, creative ways have to be found to spend what is already there more effectively.

There is a need for South Africa to move away from viewing government as a source of employment, but rather society’s service provider which, from time to time, will need streamlining (as all economic entities do).

If the president comes out and leads as Losi implores him to, the biggest favour he can do is not to bow to the pressure of the unions, but to back his finance minister by finding ways to cut the public wage bill.

Losi will do better to make her unions useful in what is an inevitability: trimming the wage bill. Failure to find themselves a relevant role will simply confine them to obscurity.

Sydney Majoko.

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