[DEBATE] : WFTU solidarity message with COSATU

[peter waterman]

Dominic:

In so far as I understand you are now working for Cosatu, permit me to point 
out:

1) the ICFTU is not 'part of' but dissolved itself, alongside the World 
Confederation of Labour, into the new ITUC;

2) The rhetorical solidarity of the WFTU is cheap. It is a machine the 
output of which consists of these, plus conferences.

3) The respect of Cosatu for the WFTU is shown by the fact that it is, 
precisely, affiliated to and on the leadership of...the ITUC.

4) Even in apartheid days, the SACTU avoided formal affiliation with the 
WFTU. This made possible the effective (if belated and ambiguous) support of 
Western unions for SACTU and its successors, Fosatu, etc.

5) Read Roger Southall's book about all this and, if you like, my critique 
of this. I can give you the references on request.




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dominic Tweedie" <dominic.tweedie at gmail.com>
To: "debate: SA discussion list" <debate at debate.kabissa.org>
Sent: Friday, May 16, 2008 11:07 PM
Subject: Re: [DEBATE] : WFTU solidarity message with COSATU


> For everybody's information, the ICFTU is now part of ITUC, and the
> three biggest TU federations in South Africa (COSATU, FEDUSA, and NACTU) 
> are
> all affiliated to ITUC. COSATU GS Zwelinzima Vavi is a full member of the
> ITUC General Council.
>
> In my opinion this makes the solidarity of WFTU for tomorrow's 
> demonstration
> all the more welcome.
>
> VC
>
>
> On 16/05/2008, Yoshie Furuhashi <critical.montages at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> On Fri, May 16, 2008 at 2:00 PM, peter waterman <p.waterman at inter.nl.net>
>> wrote:
>> > Not good, Yoshie!
>> >
>> > Are you implicitly suggesting that I should be castigating the ICFTU
>> because
>> > it was worse than the WFTU?
>>
>> It's not the matter of which is worse.  The WFTU message posted here
>> was "to expresses full support and solidarity with COSATU, and the
>> working people of South Africa and stands on their side on the protest
>> marches on May 17 to support the people of Zimbabwe," presumably a
>> cause you support, and the message had nothing to do with the Soviet
>> invasion of Czechoslovakia, which you brought up nonetheless.  If
>> that's the way you operate with regard to the WFTU, you ought to be
>> doing the same with the ICFTU, criticizing its inability to come to
>> terms its past and present reality even when someone posts, or you
>> post yourself, one of its communiques pushing for a cause that you
>> support.
>> --
>> Yoshie
>> <http://montages.blogspot.com/>
>> _______________________________________________
>> DEBATE mailing list
>> DEBATE at debate.kabissa.org
>> http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/debate
>>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Blog at: http://domza.blogspot.com/
> Communist University web site at: http://amadlandawonye.wikispaces.com/
> Subscribe for free e-mail updates at:
> http://groups.google.com/group/Communist-University/
> Library of documents (CU "CD") at: http://cu.domza.net/
> dominic.tweedie at gmail.com
> _______________________________________________
> DEBATE mailing list
> DEBATE at debate.kabissa.org
> http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/debate
>
>