Super-exploitation in the public sector

By Workers and Socialist Party(WASP)

Photo by Liv Shange: EPWP workers

Community Works Programme has been praised as the most ambitious attempt since 1994 to create jobs and combat chronic unemployment. CWP/EPWP was said to target creation of 2 million jobs to be created in various areas of public services to the communities. With the projected budget of R73, 2 billion for this year, 2012-2013 this is entirely realistic. Whilst this is still inadequate to end the scourge of unemployment, which currently stands at over 36%, or 7,6 million people of working age, in addition to many working poor who are either underemployed or barely survive in
the informal economy, it is nevertheless a significant amount for reducing unemployment. We must therefore demand the immediate implementation of this programme.

The problem is, however, not only poor implementation of the programme, which, as we pointed out already, promised to create over 2 million jobs. It is also the fact that like all the programmes of this capitalist government, the CWP has also become another scheme to swindle the poor and working class people of this country to enrich a few tenderpreneurs and other capitalists making profits out of massive public fundsearmarked for this programme. In reality this programme promotes the slavery of ultra-cheap, if not free labour disguised as so-called ‘voluntary work’, which the overwhelming majority of workers in CWP/EPWP are categorised as. 

Instead of these jobs being provided by government, this rogramme is privatised and thus enriches a few capitalist tenderpreneurs, appointed as “Implementing Agents”, making whopping profits in professional fees, pure theft and savage exploitation of workers. These workers are truly the ‘working poor’ who suffer extremely poor wages, lack of job security, benefits and other humiliations of casual labour. 

The poorest communities and particularly poor young people, who make up 70% of the unemployed and are supposed to be the main beneficiaries of the job and training opportunities provided by CWP, are also being robbed by these parasites labour brokers masquerading asImplementing Agencies. Theirreal purpose is to steal real jobs everywhere through so-called ‘voluntary work’, overworking the few ‘voluntary workers’ they hire for close to nothing in poverty wages. Even worse, , these parasitesto actually do the work of many more people they get paid to employ, Of course this corruption, fraud and exploitation happens with the sanction and full-collaboration, of government and its officials at all levels. It is also a cynical exercise in presenting government policies as designed for the benefit of the majority when in fact they are intended to benefit a capitalist minority. For in the final analysis, this looting and plundering of public resources, combined with the most savage exploitation of the workers is the only viable way this government can ever realise its programme of BEE, which seeks to create few black capitalists at the expense of the overwhelming working class and poor majority. In addition, this is also an attempt to hide the real, predominantly ‘white face’ of South African capitalism, which the ANC has agreed to manage in spite being brought to power at the behest of the black working class against a capitalist regime resting on white minority rule. 

We therefore appeal to both CWP/EPWP workers and to unite with communities in a programme of action which combines demands for the rolling-out of a programme to create the millions of jobs promised, with the end of labour broking by demanding that jobs be directly provided by government and not these profit-making parasites called ‘implementing agencies.’ We must further demand that permanent full-time work with decent wages and benefits.. 

We must be clear that only through organisation, unity and struggle, can the demands we are making be achieved. CWP workers are therefore urged to organise into ward and regional committees and unite with other CWP workers into provincial structures as a step towards building a national organisation of CWP workers. It also important to seek support of communities, particularly through mass organisations of communities dealing with issues of service delivery and youth fighting for jobs and to mobilise together with them on a programme of a rolling mass actions.