National leadership of NUM
National leadership of ANC
Leadership of COSATU
Leadership of SACP
NUM members and delegates

Good morning and welcome to this National Shop Steward Council.
This is an important event after which all of us must come out here well informed, revived, ideologically armed, and our consciousness deepened.

We must revive our commitment towards recruiting, mobilising, organising, to build a more resilient NUM.  An NUM more vibrant and dynamic than ever before.
This Council provides us with the opportunity to revive NUM as a fighting, ever-growing revolutionary union.
A union that serves and defends the interest of its members.  A union that givesstrength to COSATU, and backs the revolutionary alliance at all times.

We must come out here ready to turn the corner and innovatively defend our members.  These members, who are subjects to consistent attacks from vigilante unionism in the platinum belt.  
The suspects who are arrested clearly indicate who the key proponent of vigilante unionism is.
The victims are always NUM members without exception. Clearly NUM remains the primary target.
We must turn the corner.  This Council must guide us to a proper direction andresponse.

MEMBERS COMING BACK TO NUM
Workers are coming back to NUM in the platinum sector and we must welcome them with warm arms.
They have learned through hard lessons from leaving NUM.We must not only welcome them we must embrace them with love and comradeship.

NUM defines itself as a fighting ever-growing revolutionary union.  This is an activist character.
It means NUM must be characterised by active campaigns which intensify impactful change.  
This change is overall transformation of the living and working conditions of ourmembers.
This change must bring about better salaries for members. But we will not make populist calls about wages.
We must never create promises that we know will not be fulfilled to workers.  We must never use lies to recruit members.
We know that in the platinum belt workers are now frustrated. They have formed a new union .The other yellow union failed to live to its promises.  
Comrades and delegates,

We must   end the violation of the workers’ rights to strike at Eskom. We must undertake campaigns to reclaim our right to strike.  
We condemn the employment of shoddy characters at Eskom. This could create an environment that undermines corporate governance.
We must build hegemony in the construction sector.   Guided by the recent victories we have claimed in terms of wages.
These victories must be defended and used to advance better working conditions.
The best way of defending and advancing is to recruit more and more using new ways at our disposal.
 
SERVICE TO MEMBERS
Comrades we may have not done certain things correct. By virtue of the fact that we had become too busy as a union to realise some of our weaknesses.
Let’s device new ways to provide service .Strong membership base is important forNUM .Through it we ensured that COSATU adopted the Freedom Charter.

We ensured that government adopted progressive clauses in its MPRDA.  Ourinfluential role was due to our mass base and visibility.
Without strong NUM Cosatu could sing a strange tune to the ANC .The employers may undermine transformation targets because NUM has been weakened.  

The situation must change and the shop stewards are key to us turning the corner.
Our numbers matter most for us to make influence in. We must provide quality service to all our members in the mining industry, energy sector, and construction business.

Revolution is an active process. It is a process that is alive and driven by quality service to our members.  
We must built and sustain the union on campaigns in our branches and our regions. This makes the union visible and a fighting union.

Comrades, it is important that we continue to nurture the democratic culture within NUM at all levels.
This will be the glue that keeps us together and keep this organisation alive and intact.
Democratic culture promotes democratic structures and institutions. It promotes organisation than individuals.  Individuals come and go but institutions have a life memory.   

We should ensure that our decisions are driven by values of democratic practice and not aspirations and desires of individuals.

Culture of good values
Comrades, we cannot promote democratic traditions in our organisation if we don’t expose and fight the culture of stealing from the collective purse which is corruption.
We must refuse to retreat into little enclaves of tribalism to promote self-interest.
NUM is a national and revolutionary organisation and must fight and defeat tribalism.

This is the best way to bring unity, to promote democratic traditions within the union and promote national solidarity.
Defend Cosatu
Defending COSATU is defending the NUM .Defending NUM is defending the ANC, and the SACP.The Alliance will be protected to this effect. Thus all of us must mobilise for the ANC victory on 7 May 2014.
ANC INTERVENTION IN COSATU
As NUM we welcome ANC intervention in the current Cosatu challenges. This has brought some ceasefire and will help Cosatu to focus on its programmes.
We also send our appreciation to Cosatu President for protecting Cosatu from self-destruction until now .There is a lot of noise but the reality is that we are still oneFederation.
POSSIBLE DEPATURE OF NUM PRESIDENT
The President of NUM has been nominated by branches of the ANC to serve in the national assembly.
As NUM we have agreed with this in the spirit of deploy to advance .This is in line with swelling the ranks of the ANC.
South Africa as a whole deserves comrade President Zokwana` s knowledge and services.  
As NUM we have been spoiled by his wisdom and we are thankful to work under him .South Africa will surely benefit.
Let’s have a successful Council to defend and advance
Amandla! Matla! Matimba! All Power