The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has unveiled an audacious vision for 2025 that is both straightforward and fundamentally ideological. The union aims to unify all working-class formations and foster partnerships with progressive political parties to tackle the pressing challenges facing workers in today’s tumultuous socio-economic landscape.
As the union anticipates a challenging year ahead, its leadership has acknowledged the formidable battles that lie ahead. “2024 has been characterised by a job loss bloodbath rooted in the Covid-19 era, alongside rolling blackouts stemming from a chaotic, unplanned transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, and the shift from Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) to electric vehicles,” stated union spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola.
Hlubi-Majola emphasised that NUMSA is determined to forge alliances with various trade unions, including the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU), the Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA), and Solidarity. She argues that such unity is vital to bring forth a working-class revolutionary agenda capable of lifting the country from its deep-rooted poverty, unemployment, and inequality.
“NUMSA will indiscriminately engage trade union formations… Such engagements must surface what must be elements of the working-class revolutionary agenda,” insists Hlubi-Majola.
The union remains steadfast in its belief that an organised and united working class acting in its own interests can prevail against adversity. “We are prepared to take political risks once more. When we saw this crisis coming, we spoke out and acted, which cost the union dearly, yet we remain resilient. Uniting the working class is also about assembling progressive political parties representing the largest sections of workers. This is essential to mobilise them for a revolutionary political agenda,” she elaborated.
NUMSA has identified several key political parties to engage with, including the MK Party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the South African Communist Party (SACP), the United Democratic Movement (UDM), the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), the African Transformation Movement (ATM), and notably, the African National Congress (ANC), which remains the majority party despite recent drops in support. “While engaging these parties, we will be supported and led by our own Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP), as the task of building our own vanguard party is a noble undertaking,” added Hlubi-Majola.
NUMSA’s strategy is clear; it is a call for comprehensive engagement with these political entities. “This is not to say that other political parties will not be engaged. A political agenda must be implemented within a political framework anchored in sound ideological strategies,” she asserted.
