“The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was launched in December 1985 after four years of unity talks between unions opposed to apartheid and committed to a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.”

The above blurb courtesy of the Cosatu website.

According to www.cosatu.org.za they currently have over 2 million members, 1.8m of which are “paid up” . . . an important note as we get into the meat of this morning’s missive.

As is the following key strategic objective

“To improve material conditions of our members and of the working people as a whole”

Okay then let’s start here, comrades. In the 30 years, three decades, 360 months of your existence – what have you (actually) done for workers, the economy (that creates jobs), and the country as a whole?

Bar the yearly mass actions (that scare off investors and therefore hampers job creation), bar the regular soundbites about anything to anyone willing to listen: what real, tangible, provable, results have you achieved for the common man?

Looking at your website I see no mention of “notable achievements”. I see no documents supporting your skills development programmes – showcasing results achieved over your proud history.

Nothing about 10,000 entry level workers becoming managers through the “Cosatu College of Excellence” . . . for example.

Nothing about how you helped secure R50 billion’s worth of direct foreign investment, directly leading to the creation of 100,000 jobs.

Nothing about a “Cosatu Centre for Business Leadership and Entrepreneurship” shaping young talent and helping to create new, Proudly South African products, ready for the export market.

Nothing tangible, comrades?

In what way then have you contributed anything to the “improvement of material conditions” for your members and working people as a whole? Bar the occasional extra percentage wage increase gained through crippling mass actions (that end up hurting more than helping your members) . . . what have you done?

Nothing, comrades.

The 1.8 million members that pay you so diligently every month have been, and are being, swindled, manipulated and put out as cannon fodder for ideologies and theoretical impracticalities that have been proven, time and again, to fail miserably around the world.

Yet you persist?

Today you announced the ‘mother of all stay-aways’ to protest a variety of issues, chief among which . . . drumroll please . . . “job losses”.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the quintessential example of the ironic expression: “***king for virginity”.

Why don’t you, Cosatu, tell the nation and your members exactly how much foreign investment your actions have cost the country and the people you purport to represent, its workers. Why don’t you detail the crippling impact of your archaic methodologies on a modern economy?

Yet . . . the racial makeup of the Springboks is of concern to you?

Without emotion, allow me explain a few things about the sport of rugby.

If you (Cosatu leadership) could bring your BMW X5s and Mercedes MLs to a few schoolboy rugby games over any given weekend you would find racially representative teams doing battle and playing sport of magnificent quality.

There is super-talent on display each weekend and that translates through to Craven-week and the SA Schools rugby team. Lots of talent, black, white, coloured – you name it.

Then . . . people grow up.

All of a sudden a young black centre of 78kg that was kicking backsides and taking names is coming up against 110kg 22 year olds who are just as fast, and just as lethal on attack. Pretty soon that “superb junior league” player is either injured or decides that rugby is no longer the game for him, and he moves on.

This happens often and a lot of our senior black talent goes abegging . . . not because of racism but because, and here’s the rub sisters, genetics.

Here and there you will find exceptions to this rule but, in general, rugby is for boys who are physically equipped to handle the extreme contact nature of the sport for 11 months of the year.

Pushing someone onto a field who does not offer these physical attributes is downright dangerous, irresponsible and detrimental to the well-being of the player.

Excellence Breeds Talent

Lastly, comrades . . . in the real world where achievement and success brings more sponsors and more money – which, in turn, pays for things like development of the game “at grassroots level” – there can be no compromise on excellence, on fielding the players you feel will give you the best chance to succeed.

It is the very essence of sport and that which all professionals aspire to – to be the best.

It is being the best that cultivates and inspires kids to pick up a ball and go play. It is excellence that unites nations in a way no politician or union can or ever will.

Winning against the best brings pride, brings passion, brings new generations of players.

For 60 million, not 60 000.

When the Boks won the ’95 and 2007 World Cups, nobody asked how many black players they had in their ranks – the only point of discussion was that these were our boys, and our boys made us proud.

Our city streets were lined with adoring fans, millions locked in arm across the country – celebrating achievement, bursting with a euphoria that knows no creed or colour.

Playing for the Springboks, the Proteas, Bafana-Bafana or any of our national teams, running for our people, swimming for our flag, facing opposition with the hopes and dreams of our citizens on your shoulders, is the greatest honour there is.

When our men and women do battle in our name, nobody cares what race they are . . . all we care about is that they give their all and they do us proud.

All we care about is that they represent our country – and that they are the best we have.

As it should be: in a “non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.”

. . .

Put that in your pipes and smoke it, comrades.