Speech at the 9th Biennial Congress of the National Union of Leather and Allied Workers (NULAW) by Honourable Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana at Pinelodge, George

Master of Ceremonies,
The President of the Union, Mrs Carol Mentor,
The General Secretary of the Union, Mr Calvin Nembidzane,
Committee Members and Shop Stewards of the union,
The Mayor of George,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The white rabbit put on his spectacles. "Where shall I begin, please your majesty?" he asked. "Begin at the beginning", the King said gravely "and go on till you come to the end. Then stop".

Begin at the beginning! Excellent advice - provided you know where it is. I do. It is on the 16 March 1926 when the National Union of Leather and Allied Workers was registered. The beginning was eighty-one years ago when NULAW became the founding party to the Leather Industry Bargaining Council. Indeed this is an occasion that you should be very proud of, as this was a sign of committed and visionary leadership. Clearly, these pioneers knew what they wanted and the sector is still reaping the fruits and benefits of a well-organised sector. Had they lived, they would have had to tell of hardihood, endurance and courage.

Eighty-one years ago, when this union was formed, the world was a totally different place from what it is today. During the formation of this union, labour and natural resources formed the cornerstones for economic growth. During the industrial era, this changed to energy resources such as coal and oil, and their steam and electricity generation capacity. The world economy of yester-year was not as connected as the world economy of today, and more importantly, geographic areas were distinct and isolated from each other - unlike today.

In the last ten years, Manual Castells and Martin Carnoy tell us that the core activities of the economy have since been internationalised, using the new technologies. These core activities include more integrated financial markets, the emergence of multinational corporations, new forms of high value-added exports such as computers, science and technology as the key drivers of high performance economies, and the production and global sharing of highly skilled person power. All these activities can now all operate across the globe at the same time.

Globalisation is pervasive, and has impacted on all aspects of social life. It has also led to the decline of the nation state. The power of nation states to stabilise domestic economic conditions through fiscal and monetary policy has also been severely undermined by globalisation. Both Castells and Carnoy argue that with the decline of the nation state there has also been the demise of key social and cultural institutions and identities that have historically been part of the nation state. These include institutions and concepts such as 'citizen', 'trade union', 'nuclear family' or 'political party'.

Tempting as it might be for me to focus on all these issues, including the extent to which globalisation has led to the formation of the fourth world, I would however like to only talk about two things that directly impact on us as a result of globalisation.

Let me look first at the twin goals of skills development and employment equity. Our economy has been registering tremendous growth in the last ten years, but this growth has been of a different type. It is growth that is largely technologically driven, as is the case elsewhere in this global world. This skewed growth has therefore demanded labour with intermediate to high-end skills. At the same time, the apartheid education and training system had been designed to keep more than 80 percent of our population largely unskilled, or at best, trained at the lower-end of the skills pipeline. The fruits of this unfortunate paradox are that today, we are seating with the unemployment rate which is mainly comprised of individuals with less than a matric qualification - most of whom are African and female. A small percentage of the unemployed has a post matric certificate, the bulk of them have a diploma or certificate and only a few have a university degree. The total African unemployed graduates make up 85 percent! These shocking statistics do not come from me, but are contained in a report prepared and released last year by the Development Policy Research Unit of the University of Cape Town. Ladies and gentleman, we are seating on a ticking time bomb which will leave no winners when it explodes.

At the same time, our economy has been generating about 76 percent of jobs requiring semi-skilled and skilled labour, with only 26 percent of jobs generated requiring labour at the low skilled level. Simply put, we have a skills mis-match. Unfortunately, this time bomb continues to tick.

This is why the International Labour Organisation, in its recent report on Equality at Work, said that: "the creation of more equal societies must become a central goal of development paradigms and policies". This is also why we are constitutionally required to put in place measures to affirm the previously disadvantaged. Employment Equity is not a luxury for this nation; it is an attempt to diffuse this ticking time bomb. Section 9(2) of the Constitution states that, "Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. To promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons or categories of persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may be taken".

Therefore, those who say we must throw away our employment equity legislation because it has outlived its use, are living in a fool's paradise. The ANC addresses this matter in their strategy and tactics document.

Critical to nation-building is the de-racialisation of South African society and the elimination of patriarchal relations. It means creating a society in which the station that individuals occupy in political, social and other areas of endeavour is not defined on the basis of race, ethnicity, language, gender, religious, cultural or other such considerations. It means integrating communities in residential areas, at the work-place and within the trade union movement, in sports and other areas. It also means a consistent programme of affirmative action to eradicate the disparities created by apartheid.

The ANC recognises that individuals within such a nation will have multiple identities, on the basis of their physiological make-up, cultural life and social upbringing. Such distinctive features will not disappear in the melting-pot of broad South Africanism. Neither does their association on the basis of one social attribute or the other constitute a denial of their other identities. But it is critical that the over-arching identity of being South African is promoted among all those who are indeed South African, as part of the process of building an African nation on the southern tip of the continent. The affirmation of our Africanness as a nation has nothing to do with the domination of one culture or language by another - it is recognition of a geographic reality and the awakening of a consciousness which colonialism suppressed.

Apartheid colonialism also meant the systematic suppression of the talents, creativity and capacity of women to play their role in the ordering of the nation's affairs. Much more than any other sector, colonial oppression and a universal patriarchal culture, including socially constructed "gender roles", conspired to degrade women and treat them as sub-human. These gender roles permeate all spheres of life, beginning with the family, and are entrenched by stereotypes, dominant ideas, cultures, beliefs, traditions and laws.

Critical to the NDR is not only the affirmation of gender equality, but also ensuring that it is lived in practice by all South Africans, and finds conscious expression in all the policies and programmes of the nation. Concerted efforts will have to be made to educate citizens to change their attitudes and practices regarding the roles of women and men in society, and to assert an approach to issues of race and class which consistently recognises the gender imprint within and among these races and classes. This includes creating the necessary spiritual and material conditions to facilitate women's advancement in all spheres of life.

In the same vein, the youth, the disabled and others have borne the brunt of apartheid's hierarchy of denial, and affording them the requisite conditions for their advancement demands a united national effort.

Addressing these matters is not merely a concern for this or the other "sector" of society. It is in actual fact a matter of principle, an expression of our humane values, without which liberation would be neither genuine nor legitimate.
These are the principle that as a member of the ANC who is loyal and disciplined is abiding by. I will not be addressed through the media on policy issues but by the legitimate structures of the ANC.

With globalisation having weakened the nation state, the creation of this equal society cannot be the sole prerogative of the state. Employers and workers have to form part of this building process. Employers must do more to open their doors and affirm workers from the previously disadvantaged, whilst workers must also do better to organise at the workplace and ensure that employment equity is adhered to. Unions must make sure that they participate fully in the Employment Equity Consultative Forums, not only to make a meaningful contribution, but to engage in the monitoring and evaluation processes to make sure employers do not attempt to circumvent the requirements of legislation both procedurally and substantively. We all carry the responsibility to create a diverse and tolerant workforce that is equitable in nature and free from unfair discriminatory practices.

Equally, both employers and workers are represented on Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) boards and therefore have to accept responsibility with regards to SETAs that are not pulling their weight, and find ways to improve the functioning of our SETA system. As social partners, we introduced the Skills Development Act to empower those in employment and the unemployed. We wanted our society to acquire the necessary skills to enable it to produce good quality products or render the best services, for people to enter formal or self employment, and to derive an income that will improve their standard of living. At the same time, employers will also derive benefits in terms of productivity growth and profits. To facilitate and implement these skills development interventions, we have established the 23 SETAs including the Clothing, Textile Footwear and Leather SETA (CTFL SETA) controlled by an equal number of employer and trade union representatives.

However, I am told that countries such as Italy and India source their Leather from countries such as ours to produce some of the finest shoes, leather wear, and lounge suites that we in turn buy at 50 percent+ the original price they paid for. Of course this phenomenon is also rife in other raw materials that we produce. They manage to do all these because of the technology and the skills levels they have developed in their countries. We are sitting with a declining sector and huge unemployment levels especially amongst the youth - why are we not able to do the same? We need to start developing the necessary skills amongst our people so that we can produce these products ourselves. Amongst the questions I want to pose to you today, is what difference do you believe you have made in the CTFL Seta? Is the institution serving the needs of your members and the industry? Do you know who represents workers in the SETA since its inception and to what extent have you held such a representative accountable? Going forward, given the levels of this SETA's income and its size, and the new National Industrial Policy Framework - what are your views regarding the future of this SETA? I am raising these issues because I want you to be part of the debates in order to advance the course of workers in the Leather sector.

I would like to now change gear, and focus on the second issue that globalisation has made us suffer from: the decline of the nation state and its implications on the demise of key social and cultural institutions and identities that have historically been part it.

The advent of globalisation has weakened nation states and the extent to which they are able to direct nations in particular ways. Today, skilling your people does not necessarily mean that they will work for you. In all likelihood, they might just relocate to work in other countries. At the same time, we also benefit from skilled people trained by other countries. Businesses come and go as they please, the rand goes up and down as it pleases, and the list is endless. Therefore, being able to carve a definitive role of the state has become more challenging under globalisation. It is however not only the state that has had to adapt or die. Our labour market institutions are facing similar challenges.

Chairperson, in all the congresses of unions and bargaining councils I address, I always raise the issue of representivity of bargaining councils as a challenge that we need to address. Representivity of parties to the councils is the life-blood of the continued existence of such councils. Independent research is indicating to us that the bargaining councils cover just less than a third of employees that are potentially covered by collective bargaining. I have also done a quick scan of the representivity percentages of bargaining councils registered with my Department, and the trends are consistently going downwards. To illustrate my point, in building, the Cape of Good Hope bargaining council has had its trade union representivity declining from 58 percent in 2002 to its current 44 percent; the Road Freight bargaining council has had its trade union representivity declining from 48 percent in 2002 to its current 43 percent; the motor industry bargaining council has had its trade union representivity declining from 56 percent in 2002 to its current 48 percent; the same declining representivity trends are evident in entertainment, furniture manufacturing, metal and engineering; and with your sector, trade union representivity has also declined from 81 percent in 2002 to its current 70 percent, which is one of the best performers.

Therefore I am very happy to address a union that stood the test of time. Every one will understand that a union like yours will have its ups and downs, but a union with character and integrity will achieve diversity and prove its worth to the world. On this occasion it is fitting to reflect on some achievements registered by this union in relation to our collective bargaining system and bargaining councils in particular.

Your union negotiated a restructured footwear agreement, which I extended to non-parties on 26 September 2005. This is being regarded as a groundbreaking approach to accommodate the needs of all the different employers in the industry, especially the small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) who previously had to apply to the council for exemptions from collective agreements. The agreement allowed for the categorisation of employers into Formal, Semi-Formal and Informal Employers, and enabled employers and employees to negotiate certain employment conditions, including wages, at plant level, which allows employers particularly, a large degree of flexibility.

This is an achievement that your union was largely responsible for and of which you can be proud. These are the types of innovations that unions should look at to try and improve the working conditions of their members. I wish more unions would follow this practical approach to negotiations.

Nonetheless, there is general decline in trade union membership. Globalisation has placed more emphasis on trade liberalisation and the relocation of production to lower-wage economies, which has an adverse effect on the working class. The World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation acknowledged that globalisation has had a varied impact on employment and economic sectors with the decline in formal employment being experienced in developing countries. Due to the fundamental principles guiding globalisation, the power of the markets have grown and increased with the working class being subordinated to an international process of capital accumulation. As a consequence, these global trends have also been accompanied by the changing methods of work organisation and "atypical" forms of labour - which have made all the more difficult for trade unions to organise workers successfully using the old traditional forms.

In 2000, you acknowledged that the fall in production and employment in the footwear industry was due to amongst others the demands for a flexible labour market and liberalisation of the economy. All these changes have an adverse impact on the working class with the development and emergence of a "new sub-class" of workers characterised by employment, income and all other forms of insecurities. These insecurities, which have largely resulted in informality, pose major challenges to unionisation and the patterns of collective organisation and solidarity.

This situation might be worsened by the issues I raised earlier around the changing nature of work organisation with more emphasis on casualisation. With increasing casualisation of workers, the capacity of labour to organise is increasingly being weakened, with the resultant effect that more and more bargaining councils are becoming less representative, which means that their collective agreements cannot be extended to non-parties. Whilst some might see the weakening of trade unions and bargaining councils as a positive development, I do not see it as such. A strong collective bargaining system has served this country well over many years and to weaken any of the role players in the system could be regarded as a recipe for disaster. As a trade union, you have to play a major role in strengthening our collective bargaining system and institutions.

Challenges, as you know, will come in different forms. Your task will not be easy unless you address the weaknesses in your organisation and your structures. If you want to continue enjoying the benefits of the collective bargaining system, you need to find ways to hold on to the current membership, as well as find ways of recruiting new members. Due to the changing nature of employment, the ball will remain squarely in your court to stay a step ahead in the representivity race. The representivity of parties to bargaining councils is the most challenging requirement for the bargaining council system to survive. We will however not win this race by reviewing the threshold of representivity, as some of my comrades in COSATU have proposed, because that on its own will erode the legitimacy of the bargaining councils system as a whole both in South Africa and internationally.

With the challenges of globalisation upon us, I urge you and employers in the industry to work towards strengthening the sector. I believe bargaining councils' duty is not only to bargain on wages and conditions of employment, but to also look at ways to strengthen the sector in order to prolong the lifespan of the sector. In other words, you must all work towards making this industry competitive by organising better in the workplace.

I congratulate the Union again on the service and dedication to the Industry over the past 81 years. NULAW is an excellent example for all to see and emulate.

I wish you well with the rest of your Congress; I hope your congress will achieve what you set out to do.

Thank you.