South Africa could be on the brink of experiencing its own ‘Lula’ moment or entering the ‘second transition’ but whatever happens there are likely to be radical changes that will affect everyone in different ways.
Carol Paton’s article What the outcome of the congress means for business first appeared in Business Day today and deserves to be read in full by clicking on the link or going to BDlive itself.
The article concludes with the following statement:
The wave of support for Zuma was by far the crowning contradiction of the week: a month after his government killed 34 mine workers at Marikana, Cosatu delegates were singing the name of president with the highest acclaim.
Courtesy of Business Day here are some of the important points made in the article:
- Cosatu’s strengthened resolve to fight for restructured wages.
- Wage battles are the top priority.
- Cosatu’s objective is to secure a higher wage structure for the economy.
- Likely adoption of a campaign for an across-the-board minimum wage.
- Direct engagement with the African National Congress (ANC) over wage structures.
- Strengthened resolve for radical change to macroeconomic and social policies.
- Support for ‘strategic nationalisation’ .
- Coercive industrial action to demand strategic nationalisation.
- Vision of a mixed economy mapped out in the Freedom Charter.
- Enhanced state involvement in the economy.
- Active job creation.
- Macroeconomic policy review.
- Management of workers’ savings.
- Rules to channel retirement funds into ‘productive investment’.
- Changes to the role of the Treasury, monetary policy and the Reserve Bank.