[WSF-Discuss] [Fwd: [DEBATE] : COSATU International Solidarity Conference open planning meeting]

Mon Apr 6 14:33:39 UCT 2009

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[DEBATE] : COSATU International Solidarity Conference open 
planning meeting
Date: 	Mon, 6 Apr 2009 16:23:23 +0200
From: 	Dominic Tweedie <dominic.tweedie at gmail.com>
Reply-To: 	debate: SA discussion list <debate at debate.kabissa.org>
To: 	debate: SA discussion list <debate at debate.kabissa.org>

COSATU International Solidarity Conference

Scheduled for 24-26 June, 2009, Johannesburg

Open Planning meeting
Date: 17th April, 2009
Venue: COSATU House
Time: 13h00

All civil society organisations are welcome!

For more information contact: Lesego at cosatu.org.za

Background

COSATU is hosting an International Solidarity Conference to evaluate
its international politics and practical work, assess the impact its
making and explore alternative and creative ways of pursuing our
agenda in a more systematic way, with clear co-ordination mechanisms.
This Conference further seeks to lay the foundation for the coming
10th National Congress of the federation, so as to make the required
interventions in an effort to take our international work to new
heights. In doing so, COSATU has invited a number of fraternal trade
unions and organisations that we hope shall enrich our discussions,
raise critical issues and assist us develop the most appropriate
responses in our forward march to building alternatives to the crisis
of global capitalism, particularly as it affects workers and the poor
all over the world, particularly in Africa and the global south.

Objectives of the Conference

•	To critically reflect on the politics and practical meaning of
COSATU’s internationalism, particularly in the era of the deepening
global economic crisis

•	To identify the key challenges facing workers in order to develop
appropriate  and strategic responses, including concrete alternatives
that place workers interests at the centre of their orientation and
implementation

•	To build further linkages between organisations towards a
sustainable international solidarity movement

•	To review the role of GUFs and other multilateral trade union
structures in order to build an effective, responsive and dynamic
global trade union movement

•	To make COSATU international work more effective by;

o	Identifying the critical areas for decisive intervention by National
Congress, so as to take our international work to new and greater
heights
o	Setting the pace to influence the new state foreign policy in the
country, in the context of the coming national elections, regarding
priority issues and strategic approaches for a progressive global
agenda

1.	The six themes of Conference

a.	The world trade system, global economic justice and sustainable
development as sites of struggle for a new world order

b.	Multinational corporations: agents of development or exploitation or both

c.	The African Political economy, structural underdevelopment and
conditions of workers

d.	Climate change and global warming and their impact on workers and the poor

e.	The state of the international trade union movement and the
struggle to build a progressive global working class movement

f.	Transformation of multilateral institutions and global governance
for the democratisation of world power relations

Dates: 24-26 June 2009

Venue: To be communicated in due course.

Total number of participants: 100 delegates

Draft Conference Programme

23 rd June 2009:

Arrival and Registration of delegates from the afternoon

24th June 2009
Day 1 of Conference

9h00: Official Opening of Conference by COSATU NOB

9h30: Public Forum on the Global Economic Crisis and the meaning of
working class solidarity - Panelists to be confirmed

11h00: Tea Break

11h30: Public Forum continues

13h00: lunch

14h00: Workshops on themes;

a)	Trade, workers rights and the struggle for global economic justice

b)	Trade union strategy on dealing with Multinational corporations

c)	African Political economy and the rights of workers on the continent

d)	Climate change and global warming  and their impact on workers and the poor

e)	The state of the international trade union movement and the
struggle for its renewal

f)	Transformation of multilateral institutions and the struggle for
democratic global governance

18h30: International Solidarity Evening: How far have we come and what
remains to be done - Focussing on:

•	Palestine
•	Zimbabwe
•	Swaziland
•	Western Sahara

25th June 2009
Day 2 of Conference

9h00: The state of global governance and institutions like the WTO and
ILO and the role of the international trade union movement

-Ebrahim Patel, SACTWU General Secretary and Deputy Member of the ILO
Governing Body
10h30: Tea Break

11h00: Evaluation of General Union Federations (GUFs)  and their role
in the global working class struggle
            – Affiliates shall participate in the GUFs they belong to
co-ordinated by the following comrades;

•	PSI – Rubber Funde, PSI Titular for Southern Africa and POPCRU
Deputy President
•	ICEM – Senzeni Zokwana, ICEM and NUM President
•	UNI – Bones Skhulu SACCAWU General Secretary and UNI President to-be
•	EI – Thulas Nxesi, EI President and SADTU General Secretary
•	ITGLWF – Andre Kriel, ITGLWF Presidium member and SACTWU Deputy
General Secretary
•	IUF – Katishi Masemola, Member of the IUF Africa Regional Committee
and FAWU General Secretary
•	IMF – Irvin Jim,  Africa Representative in the IMF Executive Bureau
and NUMSA General Secretary
•	ITF – Randall Howard, SATAWU General Secretary and ITF President
•	BWI – Simon Mofokeng, BWI Member and CEPPWAWU General Secretary

13h00: Lunch

14h00: Evaluation and critical appraisal of multilateral trade union bodies

•	ITUC (including ITUC-Afro)
•	WFTU
•	SIGTUR
•	OATUU
•	SATUCC

International Solidarity night concentrating on Latin American
struggles and experiences

26 June 2009
Day 3 of conference

9h00: Draft Resolutions towards a COSATU Strategic Perspective on
International the 10th National Congress of COSATU

10h30: Tea Break

13h00: Closure

Bongani Masuku (International Relations Secretary)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets
Braamfontein, 2017
Johannesburg

P.O.Box 1019
Johannesburg, 2000
South Africa

Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24
Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940
Mobile: +27 79 499 6419
E-Mail: bongani at cosatu.org.za

-- 

* 'Needed: A Global Labour Charter Movement', ESF Malmo Update: http://www.netzwerkit.de/projekte/waterman/gc

* 'Challenging Empires: The World Social Forum. (2nd Edition, 488 pp). Ordering: http://www.blackrosebooks.net/wsf.htm  

* 'Back in the (Ex-) USSR': http://zope2.netzwerkit.de/RusRepLatest.pdf

* 'Recovering Internationalism; Creating New Global Solidarity', http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/6439.html  

* 'Prague 1968: "Workers of the World, Forgive Me!"', http://www.tni.org/archives/waterman/prague1968.pdf  

* 'A Union Internationalism for the 21stC', http://www.plutobooks.com/cgi-local/nplutobrows.pl?chkisbn=9780745327563  

* 'International Labour Studies in the UK’, in "Work Organisation Labour and Globalisation", Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 180-200. http://www.analyticapublications.co.uk/

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