Amandla! magazine | Issue 84

T

HE NATIONAL SHUTDOWN OF

24th August 2022 highlighted the

potential of the Working Class

Summit (WCS) to mobilise trade

unions and community movements behind

a campaign against the multiple attacks on

the lives of the poor majority. In this

sense, it built on the promise of the launch

of the WCS in 2018, to unite movements in

struggle.

Attended by approximately 1,

delegates representing more than 140

organisations, the founding assembly

of the WCS was an historic moment in

the reconfiguration of Left movements

in the country since the Marikana

massacre. Cosatu’s expulsion of Numsa

and the subsequent creation of Saftu

opened the possibility of a fundamental

re-organisation of the Left. Critically,

it opened the way to building a radical

mass movement premised on democratic

grassroots organisations in workplaces and

communities.

The WCS assembly offered strident

criticisms of capitalism and the ruling

ANC, whose policies have piled misery

on the lives of the majority. But it went

beyond these critiques to outline a

programme of action that could form

the basis of struggles. The formation of

the WCS represented a recognition by

various sectors of society – urban and

rural workers, unemployed, women,

students, LGBTIQ community – of the

inter-connectedness of their respective

struggles.

The national shutdown also revealed

organisational and political weaknesses

of the organisations and movements

constituting the WCS. These were already

evident at its founding. The attempt at the

launch by the Numsa leadership to impose

the SRWP on delegates nearly collapsed

the event. Only the commitment by the

majority of delegates to create unity and

augment struggles across the country

prevented the assembly from being

derailed.

The role and troubles of Saftu

Since then Saftu has played a key role in

maintaining the WCS, although many of

its affiliates have not been consistently

active in its meetings and campaigns. The

internecine contestations between the

Numsa leadership and Saftu have also

had a debilitating effect on the WCS. This

has also taken place in regions, where

some Numsa members used bureaucratic

manoeuvres to prevent WCS assemblies

from discussing political programmes

in preparation for a second national

assembly.

The WCS also reflects the weaknesses

of its constituent parts. The recent Saftu

Congress acknowledged that many

unions are in crisis. This is caused by

a combination of relentless attacks by

the ruling class and internal problems.

There are a number of causes of the

decline in unions: bureaucratisation,

the disconnection between officials and

members and the cancerous effects of

investment companies. And for Cosatu,

its failure to extricate itself from the

machinations of elite politics, particularly

manifested by its alliance with the ruling

party. The prospect of building a militant

union movement, based on workers’

democracy and control seemed possible at

the launch of Saftu. It has apparently been

stifled.

Crisis of community

movements

Community movements have experienced

their own crises. For many years, protests

in communities against the lack of housing

and basic services, among others, pointed

to a rebuilding of local movements. From

the late 1970s, these were the foundation

upon which the anti-apartheid struggle

was constructed. But these struggles

have mostly remained localised, despite

sporadic efforts by activists to connect

regionally and nationally.

Community-based movements

also operate in conditions in which the

fabric of society is being torn asunder by

grinding poverty, Gender Based Violence,

gangsterism, police violence, hunger

and the general unravelling of public

services such as health and education.

The daily struggle for survival makes

it difficult to consider the importance

of broader struggles for emancipation.

These problems were amplified by the

Covid pandemic, which ravaged poor

communities.

WCS challenges

Despite these enormous challenges,

the WCS has maintained its position as

a strategically important assembly of

Protest in Durban during the 24th August national shutdown.

Crucially, most Working Class Summit activists agreed that the

national shutdown registered, at best, uneven success.

Working Class Summit:

possibilities and challenges after

the national shutdown

By Noor Nieftagodien

Perspectives for the left