COSATU strikes against job losses and food prices

South Africa's largest trade union body, the Congress of SA Trade Unions (COSATU), took to the country's streets on Tuesday in a strike against widespread job losses, privatisation, and the rising cost of living.

The protest action went ahead in spite of a statement by its alliance partner, the ruling African National Congress (ANC), that it could not support the strike, which it called "neither justified nor productive". This raised new concerns about whether the alliance, which also includes the Communist Party, would hold.

However, the alliance's differences on economic policy, heightened by the strike, were bound to pass, analyst Dumisani Hlophe told IRIN.

"The tensions have become part of the alliance's lifespan," he said. "I don't share the thought of those who are raising the alarm about a possible split, as the historical bonds between them are so much stronger."

COSATU was formed during the height of the apartheid struggle in the 1980s, with its political support base in the United Democratic Front, the voice of the banned ANC.

Hlophe said the ANC's reaction to the strike was probably a result of President Thabo Mbeki "deciding to tackle COSATU head on and restore the image of the ANC as a movement of the masses, which cares for the poor".

COSATU, which represents about 1.8 million paid up members, said in a statement on Tuesday: "For workers, privatisation has spelled job losses - over a hundred thousand job losses can be traced to commercialisation and privatisation in state-owned enterprises, the public service and local government.

"For every worker who loses their job, a minimum of five and up to 10 people lose their livelihood."

COSATU defined privatisation as "any restructuring that involves the sale or outsourcing of assets of functions to the private sector, the replacement of social objectives with profitability by state-owned agencies, and the opening of historically state-controlled industries to private competition".

It said that unemployment had risen from 16 percent in 1995, the year after the ANC began governing, to almost 30 percent in 2001.

Woven into this was a crisis of rising food prices and food insecurity. This was reflected in the doubling in price of the staple maize meal in the year to June 2002. This had hit workers who typically spend 30 percent of their income on food.

COSATU said maize was expected to increase again as the milling industry recovered the cost of purchasing expensive grain earlier in 2002. Exports to Zambia and other southern African countries, the anticipation of crop problems related to the El Nino weather pattern and a US maize price increase contributed to price rises, the labour movement said.

COSATU also highlighted concern over rising interest rates - four hikes this year - which are meant to curb inflation, currently running at 10.8 percent.

Lower income groups were more exposed to inflation and had to make ends meet on below inflation wage settlements. This worsened poverty, hunger and inequality. COSATU said that already over a fifth of South African children showed signs of stunting due to malnutrition.

It urged the government to address the specific causes of inflation and prevent food price increases.

COSATU spokesman Vukani Mde said the strike had been successful with thousands of workers arriving for marches and protests. He hoped that the idea that COSATU would take to the streets once a year would make people "sit up and listen".

He felt the strain the strike had caused the alliance would pass and added that the ANC had included many COSATU suggestions into its most recent policy document.

COSATU has called for a mass stayaway on Wednesday.