“the union can play a big role once we go back to basics”

There is a big difference between the unions of today and then. We built the union under very difficult conditions. We believed in building the organisation because we saw that it could bring about change for the workers. We went out to organise. We never travelled by plane – we only travelled by car. Today people earn big salaries and they work in luxury. I don't bear a grudge against them, but I don't think they have that same feeling to work for the people like we used to have.

In the past, there were misunderstandings between officials and committees, but it never got to a situation where we could not deal with it or find solutions. Compared to the problems in the past the problems of today are much bigger. We never took officials to court. There was a certain respect and subservience amongst one another that is no longer there, based on my experiences. People say things about you without any consideration for your feelings. They don't care.

In those days if the branch had a problem you would be there to sort it out locally. We called meetings to explain certain things and that played a big role because people knew what to expect when they decided to take a certain course of action. That is a role that the union can play. They cannot say that they don't have the time. If the Secretary-General and Vice-President are unavailable then the executive members can do it. They have more time than the officials who have to run around. That is the one thing the union must do again.

People still phone me early in the morning and when I get home there are people waiting for me, and yet there is a union. It is difficult for me to discuss union matters with employers. I tell the people to go to the union – the union is there to help them. They say they went there and could not find the people. That is a sad state of affairs, because you don't know how to solve it or how the workers will find solutions to their problems. And there is slackness amongst the officials as well.

One of our problems today is that people get too comfortable in their positions. Now that we have cars and houses, we do not want to do what we did before. I am very angry that there are people who are in positions that could be of great value to the ANC, but because they became complacent, they are not prepared to make any sacrifices. Many of the things happening in the union nowadays really hurt one. Now is the time to give your all for the things that will benefit our people, such as improving the conditions of workers in the factory and improving the lives of people in general. I am still struggling to understand what it is that we should do to improve things in the future.

The union can play a big role once we go back to basics. In many factories a lot of people still cannot read or write, and they are usually women. A woman suffers because she gets an income, but she knows that she must cover a lot of things with that income. Every payday she must rack her brains about what and how. So a woman like that will easily latch on to something that she believes is going to change her life. This has to be understood within the context of change. She must understand why there is change and what the change is all about. Unless we explain it to her so that she understands, she will remain in the dark.

There is change. Certain laws prohibited the trade union from doing certain things, but today there are major changes. There are improvements in the laws for trade unions and in the labour sector as a whole. You can include much more in the agreements today than in the past. Today agreements sometimes involve the union, the employer and the Government.

All the changes are being discussed with the leaders of the union, and the members should understand that change is necessary although they don't understand how it should be done. The union must be involved in helping people to understand the changes that must happen, that will be happening, and that are already happening but it is going to take some time. If you got used to something over a number of years it is very difficult to change immediately. You must gradually change people so that they can understand how to do things if they want to benefit.

Organizers, secretaries, presidents should never make empty promises to workers. Because that is the thing that back fires very dangerously. If you can't do a thing, you must tell them. Don't give them false hope that I'm going to get things right for you. That is a thing that I learned in the unions. It backfires and then it's difficult to get that confidence from people again.