President of NUM, cde. Phillip Vilakazi,
General Secretary, cde. Mpho Phakedi,
Leadership and members of NUM,
Thank you for inviting COSATU to join you on this historic occasion as we celebrate this mighty giant of the working class. We look forward to many more years of militant struggles and victories of our proud affiliate, NUM. The history of the South African workers’ movement and the liberation struggle is interlinked with that of mine workers. This interlink is informed by the fact that mining has always been and remains the back rock of the South African economy.
43 years of existence, your history can attest your struggle path. The history takes us through some of the genesis of mining in South Africa. We recall that in the 1910s it was white mine workers who protested at African mine workers being hired. It was the labour movement that forced open the doors for all workers to become mine workers.
This historic moment that sought to divide workers based upon the colour of their skin, lit a fire for the call of non-racialism. It was this spark that saw the Communist Party of South Africa becoming the first political party in South Africa to reject racial boundaries and open its membership to all races. It was this moment that saw the African National Congress, the Coloured People’s Congress, the Natal and Transvaal Indian Congress, the Congress of Democrats and the CPSA form the Congress Alliance.
Our predecessor, the South African Congress of Trade Unions was an integral part of this revolutionary Alliance. It was no accident that it was the African Mineworkers Union led by that giant, JB Marks, son of Ventersdorp, who led the historic 1946 mineworkers’ strike. This was a key impetus to the Congress of the People that gathered at Kliptown in 1955 and adopted the Freedom Charter, that to today guides the liberation movement and indeed the nation.
In 1973 the historic Durban strike saw the revival of the labour movement in spite of the brutality of the apartheid regime. In 1982, mineworkers once again mobilised and founded NUM under the leadership of James Motlatsi, Elijah Barayi and a young Cyril Ramaphosa. This was a moment the apartheid regime would never recover from.
Not only did the NUM help form the United Democratic Front in 1983 and the mighty COSATU 40 years ago this week but went on to lead the decisive 1987 mineworkers’ strike that shut down the mining sector and brought the apartheid regime to its knees and eventually the negotiating table.
It was not by accident that ANC delegates elected cde. Ramaphosa as its first SG after the unbanning as it sought to rebuild its internal structures after 30 years underground, banned, imprisoned and in exile. It was no accident that when the ANC was looking for the most experienced and formidable negotiators, it went to NUM and tasked cde. Ramaphosa to lead us at CODESA.
It is no exaggeration to state the 1994 democratic breakthrough was in no small part an achievement of the mighty NUM. Our progressive Constitution that is based upon the non-racial and non-sexist vision of the Freedom Charter, was achieved through the sweat and blood of the members of NUM. Our progressive labour laws, from the Labour Relations to the Basic Conditions of Employment, from the Employment Equity to the Skills Development Act, are the product of decades of struggle by NUM.
In 1994 about 484 mine workers died at work. In 2024, it was 42. This is because of the tireless efforts of this NUM. Whilst applauding this, we must remind the Minister for Mineral and Petroleum Resources and the former GS of NUM, cde. Gwede Mantashe, to table the Mine Health and Safety Amendment Bill at Parliament as it will be another important step forward to protecting the lives of mine workers.
During COVID-19, it was because of NUM that thousands of mineworkers were protected from this deadly global pandemic. NUM played a key role in putting in place bold health and safety measures and a comprehensive vaccination programme that saved thousands of lives and livelihoods.
When the economy went through one of its darkest chapters, it was our electricity workers at Eskom and our municipalities, members of NUM and SAMWU who ensured we defeated loadshedding. Now we must defeat load reduction, cable theft, corruption, vandalism and ensure that all who consume electricity pay for it. The economy requires affordable electricity.
The mining, manufacturing and agricultural sectors too require a highly efficient Transnet. We must give more support to SATAWU to restore this other key state-owned enterprise. This will work well through the recent resolution of twinning for NUM to consider direct assistance to SATAWU for the purposes of linking the interests of both your sectors. When some have rushed to abandon coal, we must ensure that we invest in clean coal and clean energy, that we protect the jobs of coal and mine workers and local communities.
Government has set aside R1 trillion for a massive infrastructure investment programme, and we need NUM to be there at each site recruiting, organising and servicing workers. We cannot afford another George tragedy, where the construction site was compromised and the building collapsed. Employers who break the law must go to jail. The motor manufacturing sector remains under threat; we need NUM to lead the master plan and ensure that this strategic industry is protected and grows. We have come far since 1946, 1983, 1985 and 1994. We have much to be proud of. But we have much more to do.
Today, while we are dealing with the safety issues in the mining space, where workplace accidents have flooded our mines in the past fifteen years (The Lilly mines is one example). We are also confronted with serious challenges of massive retrenchments, where the union is dealing with Section 189, almost every week. Most of the big mining bosses do not want to take responsibility for employment and they are only chasing profits.
Some are even abandoning mines and leaving an opening for informal mining (zama-zama). We must say that this problem of zam-zamas is a self-created problem by these mine bosses who just leave and workers remain stranded without any income. We are pushing for most of these mines to be opened to ensure workers get to be re-employed.
We will be celebrating at Dobsonville on Saturday the 40th anniversary of the Federation of Elijah Barayi. We need NUM to ensure that stadium is full. We cannot afford empty chairs. Can we go out and mobilise every leader, organiser, shop steward and member of NUM across Gauteng, North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KZN and the Free State to be there in their numbers.
We will be holding COSATU’s National Congress in September. We need to see NUM’s membership boosted to no less than 200 000. No one must doubt that COSATU lives, COSATU leads.
We will be heading towards the most difficult local elections in 2026. We need an active NUM as we engage and mobilise workers to come out in their numbers to ensure that the Alliance emerges with an outright majority at the ballot box across the country. This requires us as NUM and COSATU to ensure that Alliance is reconfigured and united and campaigns as one in these elections. We cannot afford for the Alliance to be divided.
Leadership allow me to conclude by thanking you for all that NUM has achieved over its 43 militant years. There can be no COSATU without NUM. We remain confident that workers are led by this revolutionary union and that we will grow from strength to strength.
Thank you. Matla!